Accelerated task performance

ABSTRACT

Systems and processes for accelerating task performance are provided. An example method includes, at an electronic device including a display and one or more input devices, displaying, on the display, a user interface including a suggestion affordance associated with a task, detecting, via the one or more input devices, a first user input corresponding to a selection of the suggestion affordance, in response to detecting the first user input: in accordance with a determination that the task is a task of a first type, performing the task, and in accordance with a determination that the task is a task of a second type different than the first type, displaying a confirmation interface including a confirmation affordance.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application62/679,972, entitled “ACCELERATED TASK PERFORMANCE” filed Jun. 3, 2018and to U.S. Provisional Application 62/729,967, entitled “ACCELERATEDTASK PERFORMANCE”, filed Sep. 11, 2018, the entire content of which ishereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD

This relates generally to digital assistants and, more specifically, toaccelerating task performance using a digital assistant.

BACKGROUND

Intelligent automated assistants (or digital assistants) can provide abeneficial interface between human users and electronic devices. Suchassistants can allow users to interact with devices or systems usingnatural language in spoken and/or text forms. For example, a user canprovide a speech input containing a user request to a digital assistantoperating on an electronic device. The digital assistant can interpretthe user's intent from the speech input, operationalize the user'sintent into a task, and perform the task. In some systems, performingtasks in this manner may be constrained in the manner by which a task isidentified. In some cases, however, a user may be limited to aparticular set of commands such that the user cannot readily instruct adigital assistant to perform a task using natural-language speechinputs. Further, in many instances digital assistants fail to adaptbased on previous user behavior and in turn lack a desirableoptimization of user experience.

SUMMARY

Example methods are described herein. An example method includes, at anelectronic device with a display and a touch-sensitive surface,displaying, on the display, a user interface including a suggestionaffordance associated with a task, detecting, via the one or more inputdevices, a first user input corresponding to a selection of thesuggestion affordance; in response to detecting the first user input: inaccordance with a determination that the task is a task of a first type,performing the task; and in accordance with a determination that thetask is a task of a second type different than the first type,displaying a confirmation interface including a confirmation affordance.

Example electronic devices are described herein. An example electronicdevice comprises one or more processors, a memory, and one or moreprograms, wherein the one or more programs are stored in the memory andconfigured to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or moreprograms including instructions for: displaying, on the display, a userinterface including a suggestion affordance associated with a task;detecting, via the one or more input devices, a first user inputcorresponding to a selection of the suggestion affordance; in responseto detecting the first user input: in accordance with a determinationthat the task is a task of a first type, performing the task; and inaccordance with a determination that the task is a task of a second typedifferent than the first type, displaying a confirmation interfaceincluding a confirmation affordance.

An example electronic device includes means for displaying, on thedisplay, a user interface including a suggestion affordance associatedwith a task, means for detecting, via the one or more input devices, afirst user input corresponding to a selection of the suggestionaffordance, means for, in response to detecting the first user input: inaccordance with a determination that the task is a task of a first type,performing the task; and in accordance with a determination that thetask is a task of a second type different than the first type,displaying a confirmation interface including a confirmation affordance.

Example non-transitory computer-readable media are disclosed herein. Anexample non-transitory computer-readable medium stores one or moreprograms comprising instructions, which when executed by one or moreprocessors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to:display, on the display, a user interface including a suggestionaffordance associated with a task; detect, via the one or more inputdevices, a first user input corresponding to a selection of thesuggestion affordance; in response to detecting the first user input: inaccordance with a determination that the task is a task of a first type,perform the task; and in accordance with a determination that the taskis a task of a second type different than the first type, display aconfirmation interface including a confirmation affordance.

Displaying a user interface including a suggestion affordance andselectively requiring confirmation to perform a task in response toselection of the suggestion affordance provides a user with an easilyrecognizable and intuitive approach for performing tasks on theelectronic device, thereby reducing the number of user inputs otherwiseneeded to perform such tasks. Thus, displaying user interfaces in thismanner enhances the operability of the device and makes the user-deviceinterface more efficient (e.g., by helping the user to provide properinputs and reducing user mistakes when operating/interacting with thedevice), which, additionally, reduces power usage and improves batterylife of the device by enabling the user to use the device more quicklyand efficiently.

An example method includes, at an electronic device having one or moreprocessors, displaying a plurality of candidate task affordancesincluding a candidate task affordance associated with a task, detectinga set of inputs including a first user input corresponding to aselection of the candidate task affordance associated with the task, inresponse to detecting the set of user inputs, displaying a firstinterface for generating a voice shortcut associated with the task,while displaying the first interface: receiving, by the audio inputdevice, a natural-language speech input, and displaying, in the firstinterface, a candidate phrase, wherein the candidate phrase is based onthe natural-language speech input, after displaying the candidatephrase, detecting, via the touch-sensitive surface, a second user input,and in response to detecting the second user input, associating thecandidate phrase with the task.

An example non-transitory computer-readable storage medium stores one ormore programs. The one or more programs comprise instructions, whichwhen executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, causethe electronic device to display a plurality of candidate taskaffordances including a candidate task affordance associated with atask, detect a set of inputs including a first user input correspondingto a selection of the candidate task affordance associated with thetask, in response to detecting the set of user inputs, display a firstinterface for generating a voice shortcut associated with the task,while displaying the first interface: receive, by the audio inputdevice, a natural-language speech input, and display, in the firstinterface, a candidate phrase, wherein the candidate phrase is based onthe natural-language speech input, after displaying the candidatephrase, detect, via the touch-sensitive surface, a second user input,and in response to detecting the second user input, associate thecandidate phrase with the task.

An example electronic device comprises one or more processors, a memory,and one or more programs, where the one or more programs are stored inthe memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors,the one or more programs including instructions for displaying aplurality of candidate task affordances including a candidate taskaffordance associated with a task, detecting a set of inputs including afirst user input corresponding to a selection of the candidate taskaffordance associated with the task, in response to detecting the set ofuser inputs, displaying a first interface for generating a voiceshortcut associated with the task, while displaying the first interface:receiving, by the audio input device, a natural-language speech input,and displaying, in the first interface, a candidate phrase, wherein thecandidate phrase is based on the natural-language speech input, afterdisplaying the candidate phrase, detecting, via the touch-sensitivesurface, a second user input, and in response to detecting the seconduser input, associating the candidate phrase with the task.

An example electronic device comprises means for displaying a pluralityof candidate task affordances including a candidate task affordanceassociated with a task, means for detecting a set of inputs including afirst user input corresponding to a selection of the candidate taskaffordance associated with the task, means for, in response to detectingthe set of user inputs, displaying a first interface for generating avoice shortcut associated with the task, means for, while displaying thefirst interface: receiving, by the audio input device, anatural-language speech input, and displaying, in the first interface, acandidate phrase, wherein the candidate phrase is based on thenatural-language speech input, means for, after displaying the candidatephrase, detecting, via the touch-sensitive surface, a second user input,and means for, in response to detecting the second user input,associating the candidate phrase with the task.

Providing candidate phrases based on a natural-language speech input andassociating candidate phrases with respective tasks allows a user toaccurately and efficiently generate user-specific voice shortcuts thatcan be used to perform tasks on the electronic device. For example,allowing a user to associate voice shortcuts with tasks in this mannerallows a user to visually confirm that a desired voice shortcut has beenselected and assigned to the correct task, thereby reducing thelikelihood of an incorrect or unwanted association. Thus, providingcandidate phrases in the manner described provides for more efficientuse of the electronic device (e.g., by helping the user to provideproper inputs and reducing user mistakes when operating/interacting withthe device), which, additionally, reduces power usage and improvesbattery life of the device by enabling the user to use the device morequickly and efficiently.

An example method includes, at an electronic device having one or moreprocessors, receiving context data associated with the electronicdevice, determining, based on the context data, a task probability for atask, determining, based on the context data, a parameter probabilityfor a parameter, wherein the parameter is associated with the task,determining, based on the task probability and the parameterprobability, whether the task satisfies suggestion criteria, inaccordance with a determination that the task satisfies the suggestioncriteria, displaying, on the display, a suggestion affordancecorresponding to the task and the parameter, and in accordance with adetermination that the task does not satisfy the suggestion criteria,forgoing displaying the suggestion affordance.

An example non-transitory computer-readable storage medium stores one ormore programs. The one or more programs comprise instructions, whichwhen executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, causethe electronic device to receive context data associated with theelectronic device, determine, based on the context data, a taskprobability for a task, determine, based on the context data, aparameter probability for a parameter, wherein the parameter isassociated with the task, determine, based on the task probability andthe parameter probability, whether the task satisfies suggestioncriteria, in accordance with a determination that the task satisfies thesuggestion criteria, display, on the display, a suggestion affordancecorresponding to the task and the parameter, and in accordance with adetermination that the task does not satisfy the suggestion criteria,forgo displaying the suggestion affordance.

An example electronic device comprises one or more processors, a memory,and one or more programs, where the one or more programs are stored inthe memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors,the one or more programs including instructions for receiving contextdata associated with the electronic device, determining, based on thecontext data, a task probability for a task, determining, based on thecontext data, a parameter probability for a parameter, wherein theparameter is associated with the task, determining, based on the taskprobability and the parameter probability, whether the task satisfiessuggestion criteria, in accordance with a determination that the tasksatisfies the suggestion criteria, displaying, on the display, asuggestion affordance corresponding to the task and the parameter, andin accordance with a determination that the task does not satisfy thesuggestion criteria, forgoing displaying the suggestion affordance.

An example electronic device comprises means for means for receivingcontext data associated with the electronic device, means fordetermining, based on the context data, a task probability for a task,means for determining, based on the context data, a parameterprobability for a parameter, wherein the parameter is associated withthe task, means for determining, based on the task probability and theparameter probability, whether the task satisfies suggestion criteria,means for, in accordance with a determination that the task satisfiesthe suggestion criteria, displaying, on the display, a suggestionaffordance corresponding to the task and the parameter, and means for inaccordance with a determination that the task does not satisfy thesuggestion criteria, forgoing displaying the suggestion affordance.

Selectively providing suggestion affordances associated with tasks, asdescribed herein, allows a user to efficiently and conveniently performtasks relevant to the user on the electronic device. By way of example,suggestion affordances displayed by the electronic device can correspondto tasks identified based on context data of the electronic device, suchas context data indicative of prior use of the electronic device by theuser. Thus, selectively providing suggestions in this manner decreasesthe number of inputs and amount of time needed for the user to operatethe electronic device (e.g., by helping the user to provide properinputs and reducing user mistakes when operating/interacting with thedevice), which, additionally, reduces power usage and improves batterylife of the device.

An example method includes, at an electronic device having one or moreprocessors, receiving a natural-language speech input, determiningwhether the natural-language speech input satisfies voice shortcutcriteria, in accordance with a determination that the natural-languagespeech input satisfies the voice shortcut criteria: identifying a taskassociated with the voice shortcut, and performing the task associatedwith the voice shortcut, and in accordance with a determination that thenatural-language speech input does not satisfy the voice shortcutcriteria: identifying a task associated with the natural-language speechinput, and performing the task associated with the natural-languagespeech input.

An example non-transitory computer-readable storage medium stores one ormore programs. The one or more programs comprise instructions, whichwhen executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, causethe electronic device to receive a natural-language speech input,determine whether the natural-language speech input satisfies voiceshortcut criteria, in accordance with a determination that thenatural-language speech input satisfies the voice shortcut criteria:identify a task associated with the voice shortcut, and perform the taskassociated with the voice shortcut, and in accordance with adetermination that the natural-language speech input does not satisfythe voice shortcut criteria: identify a task associated with thenatural-language speech input, and perform the task associated with thenatural-language speech input.

An example electronic device comprises one or more processors, a memory,and one or more programs, where the one or more programs are stored inthe memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors,the one or more programs including instructions for receiving anatural-language speech input, determining whether the natural-languagespeech input satisfies voice shortcut criteria, in accordance with adetermination that the natural-language speech input satisfies the voiceshortcut criteria: identifying a task associated with the voiceshortcut, and performing the task associated with the voice shortcut,and in accordance with a determination that the natural-language speechinput does not satisfy the voice shortcut criteria: identifying a taskassociated with the natural-language speech input, and performing thetask associated with the natural-language speech input.

An example electronic device comprises means for means for receiving anatural-language speech input, means for determining whether thenatural-language speech input satisfies voice shortcut criteria, meansfor, in accordance with a determination that the natural-language speechinput satisfies the voice shortcut criteria: identifying a taskassociated with the voice shortcut, and performing the task associatedwith the voice shortcut, and means for, in accordance with adetermination that the natural-language speech input does not satisfythe voice shortcut criteria: identifying a task associated with thenatural-language speech input, and performing the task associated withthe natural-language speech input.

Performing tasks in response to natural-language speech inputs (e.g.,voice shortcuts), as described herein, provides an intuitive andefficient approach for performing tasks on the electronic device. By wayof example, one or more tasks may be performed in response to anatural-language speech input without any additional input from theuser. Accordingly, performing tasks in response to natural-languagespeech inputs in this manner decreases the number of inputs and amountof time needed for the user to operate the electronic device (e.g., byhelping the user to provide proper inputs and reducing user mistakeswhen operating/interacting with the device), which, additionally,reduces power usage and improves battery life of the device.

An example method includes, at an electronic device having one or moreprocessors, receiving, with a digital assistant, a natural-languagespeech input, determining a voice shortcut associated with thenatural-language speech input, determining a task corresponding to thevoice shortcut, causing an application to initiate performance of thetask, receiving a response from the application, wherein the response isassociated with the task, determining, based on the response, whetherthe task was successfully performed, and providing an output indicatingwhether the task was successfully performed.

An example non-transitory computer-readable storage medium stores one ormore programs. The one or more programs comprise instructions, whichwhen executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, causethe electronic device to receive, with a digital assistant, anatural-language speech input, determine a voice shortcut associatedwith the natural-language speech input, determine a task correspondingto the voice shortcut, cause an application to initiate performance ofthe task, receive a response from the application, wherein the responseis associated with the task, determine, based on the response, whetherthe task was successfully performed, and provide an output indicatingwhether the task was successfully performed.

An example electronic device comprises one or more processors, a memory,and one or more programs, where the one or more programs are stored inthe memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors,the one or more programs including instructions for receiving, with adigital assistant, a natural-language speech input, determining a voiceshortcut associated with the natural-language speech input, determininga task corresponding to the voice shortcut, causing an application toinitiate performance of the task, receiving a response from theapplication, wherein the response is associated with the task,determining, based on the response, whether the task was successfullyperformed, and providing an output indicating whether the task wassuccessfully performed.

An example electronic device comprises means for means for receiving,with a digital assistant, a natural-language speech input, means fordetermining a voice shortcut associated with the natural-language speechinput, and means for determining a task corresponding to the voiceshortcut, means for causing an application to initiate performance ofthe task, means for receiving a response from the application, whereinthe response is associated with the task, means for determining, basedon the response, whether the task was successfully performed, and meansfor providing an output indicating whether the task was successfullyperformed.

Providing an output, as described herein, allows the digital assistantto provide feedback and/or other information from an application, forinstance during the course of a dialog (e.g., conversational dialog)between a user and the digital assistant, in an intuitive and flexiblemanner. By way of example, the digital assistant may provide (e.g.,relay) natural-language expressions from an application to the user suchthat the user can interact with the application without opening orotherwise directly accessing the application. Accordingly, providingnatural-language outputs in this manner decreases the number of inputsand amount of time needed for the user to operate the electronic device(e.g., by helping the user to provide proper inputs and reducing usermistakes when operating/interacting with the device), which,additionally, reduces power usage and improves battery life of thedevice.

An example method includes receiving a plurality of media items from anapplication, receiving context data associated with the electronicdevice, determining a task based on the plurality of media items and thecontext data, determining whether the task satisfies suggestioncriteria, in accordance with a determination that the task satisfies thesuggestion criteria, displaying, on the display, a suggestion affordancecorresponding to the task, and in accordance with a determination thatthe task does not satisfy the suggestion criteria, forgoing displayingthe suggestion affordance.

An example electronic device comprises one or more processors, a memory,and one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs are stored inthe memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors,the one or more programs including instructions for receiving aplurality of media items from an application, receiving context dataassociated with the electronic device, determining a task based on theplurality of media items and the context data, determining whether thetask satisfies suggestion criteria, in accordance with a determinationthat the task satisfies the suggestion criteria, displaying, on thedisplay, a suggestion affordance corresponding to the task, and inaccordance with a determination that the task does not satisfy thesuggestion criteria, forgoing displaying the suggestion affordance.

An example electronic device comprises means for receiving a pluralityof media items from an application, means for receiving context dataassociated with the electronic device, means for determining a taskbased on the plurality of media items and the context data, means fordetermining whether the task satisfies suggestion criteria, means for,in accordance with a determination that the task satisfies thesuggestion criteria, displaying, on the display, a suggestion affordancecorresponding to the task, and means for, in accordance with adetermination that the task does not satisfy the suggestion criteria,forgoing displaying the suggestion affordance.

An example non-transitory computer-readable medium stores one or moreprograms comprising instructions, which when executed by one or moreprocessors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device toreceive a plurality of media items from an application, receive contextdata associated with the electronic device, determine a task based onthe plurality of media items and the context data, determine whether thetask satisfies suggestion criteria, in accordance with a determinationthat the task satisfies the suggestion criteria, display, on thedisplay, a suggestion affordance corresponding to the task, and inaccordance with a determination that the task does not satisfy thesuggestion criteria, forgo displaying the suggestion affordance.

Selectively providing suggestion affordances corresponding to tasks, asdescribed herein, allows a user to efficiently and conveniently performtasks relevant to the user on the electronic device. By way of example,suggestion affordances displayed by the electronic device can correspondto tasks identified based on media consumption and/or determined mediapreferences of the user. Thus, selectively providing suggestions in thismanner decreases the number of inputs and amount of time needed for theuser to operate the electronic device (e.g., by helping the user toprovide proper inputs and reducing user mistakes whenoperating/interacting with the device), which, additionally, reducespower usage and improves battery life of the device.

An example method includes receiving, using a digital assistant, a userinput including a shortcut; and in response to receiving the user inputincluding the shortcut: determining a set of tasks associated with theshortcut; performing a first task of the set of tasks, wherein the firsttask is associated with a first application; providing a first responseindicating whether the first task was successfully performed; performinga second task of the set of tasks, wherein the second task is associatedwith a second application different than the first application; andafter providing the first response, providing a second responseindicating whether the second task was successfully performed.

An example electronic device comprises one or more processors, a memory,and one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs are stored inthe memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors,the one or more programs including instructions for receiving, using adigital assistant, a user input including a shortcut; and in response toreceiving the user input including the shortcut: determining a set oftasks associated with the shortcut; performing a first task of the setof tasks, wherein the first task is associated with a first application;providing a first response indicating whether the first task wassuccessfully performed; performing a second task of the set of tasks,wherein the second task is associated with a second applicationdifferent than the first application; and after providing the firstresponse, providing a second response indicating whether the second taskwas successfully performed.

An example electronic device comprises means for receiving, using adigital assistant, a user input including a shortcut; and means for, inresponse to receiving the user input including the shortcut: determininga set of tasks associated with the shortcut; performing a first task ofthe set of tasks, wherein the first task is associated with a firstapplication; providing a first response indicating whether the firsttask was successfully performed; performing a second task of the set oftasks, wherein the second task is associated with a second applicationdifferent than the first application; and after providing the firstresponse, providing a second response indicating whether the second taskwas successfully performed.

An example non-transitory computer-readable medium stores one or moreprograms comprising instructions, which when executed by one or moreprocessors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device toreceive, using a digital assistant, a user input including a shortcut;and in response to receiving the user input including the shortcut:determine a set of tasks associated with the shortcut; perform a firsttask of the set of tasks, wherein the first task is associated with afirst application; provide a first response indicating whether the firsttask was successfully performed; perform a second task of the set oftasks, wherein the second task is associated with a second applicationdifferent than the first application; and after providing the firstresponse, provide a second response indicating whether the second taskwas successfully performed.

Performing a set of tasks in response to user inputs including shortcuts(e.g., voice shortcuts), as described herein, provides an intuitive andefficient approach for sequentially performing one or more tasks on theelectronic device. By way of example, one or more tasks may be performedin response to a single user input without any additional input from theuser. Accordingly, performing tasks in response to natural-languagespeech inputs in this manner decreases the number of inputs and amountof time needed for the user to successfully operate the electronicdevice (e.g., by helping the user to provide proper inputs and reducinguser mistakes when operating/interacting with the device), which,additionally, reduces power usage and improves battery life of thedevice.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a system and environment forimplementing a digital assistant, according to various examples.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram illustrating a portable multifunction deviceimplementing the client-side portion of a digital assistant, accordingto various examples.

FIG. 2B is a block diagram illustrating exemplary components for eventhandling, according to various examples.

FIG. 3 illustrates a portable multifunction device implementing theclient-side portion of a digital assistant, according to variousexamples.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an exemplary multifunction device with adisplay and a touch-sensitive surface, according to various examples.

FIG. 5A illustrates an exemplary user interface for a menu ofapplications on a portable multifunction device, according to variousexamples.

FIG. 5B illustrates an exemplary user interface for a multifunctiondevice with a touch-sensitive surface that is separate from the display,according to various examples.

FIG. 6A illustrates a personal electronic device, according to variousexamples.

FIG. 6B is a block diagram illustrating a personal electronic device,according to various examples.

FIGS. 6C-6D illustrate exemplary components of a personal electronicdevice having a touch-sensitive display and intensity sensors inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIGS. 6E-6H illustrate exemplary components and user interfaces of apersonal electronic device in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 7A is a block diagram illustrating a digital assistant system or aserver portion thereof, according to various examples.

FIG. 7B illustrates the functions of the digital assistant shown in FIG.7A, according to various examples.

FIG. 7C illustrates a portion of an ontology, according to variousexamples.

FIGS. 8A-8AF illustrate exemplary user interfaces for providingsuggestions, according to various examples.

FIGS. 9A-9B are a flow diagram illustrating a method of providingsuggestions, according to various examples.

FIGS. 10A-10AJ illustrate exemplary user interfaces for providing voiceshortcuts, according to various examples.

FIGS. 11A-11B are a flow diagram illustrating a method of providingvoice shortcuts, according to various examples.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a task suggestion system,according to various examples.

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for providingsuggestions, according to various examples.

FIG. 14 illustrates an exemplary sequence of operations for performing atask in a privacy preserving manner, according to various examples.

FIG. 15 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of performing tasks,according to various examples.

FIGS. 16A-16S illustrate exemplary user interfaces for performing a taskusing a digital assistant, according to various examples.

FIG. 17 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of performing a taskusing a digital assistant, according to various examples.

FIGS. 18A-18D illustrate exemplary user interfaces for providing mediaitem suggestions, according to various examples.

FIG. 19 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of providing media itemsuggestions, according to various examples.

FIGS. 20A-20N illustrate exemplary user interfaces for providing voiceshortcuts, according to various examples.

FIGS. 21A-21F illustrate exemplary user interfaces for performing a taskusing a digital assistant, according to various examples.

FIGS. 22A-22O illustrate exemplary user interfaces for performing a setof tasks using a digital assistant, according to various examples.

FIG. 23 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for performing a set oftasks using a digital assistant, according to various examples.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description of examples, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings in which are shown by way of illustration specificexamples that can be practiced. It is to be understood that otherexamples can be used and structural changes can be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the various examples.

Although the following description uses terms “first,” “second,” etc. todescribe various elements, these elements should not be limited by theterms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element fromanother. For example, a first input could be termed a second input, and,similarly, a second input could be termed a first input, withoutdeparting from the scope of the various described examples. The firstinput and the second input are both inputs and, in some cases, areseparate and different inputs.

The terminology used in the description of the various describedexamples herein is for the purpose of describing particular examplesonly and is not intended to be limiting. As used in the description ofthe various described examples and the appended claims, the singularforms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms aswell, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will also beunderstood that the term “and/or” as used herein refers to andencompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of theassociated listed items. It will be further understood that the terms“includes,” “including,” “comprises,” and/or “comprising,” when used inthis specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers,steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude thepresence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps,operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

The term “if” may be construed to mean “when” or “upon” or “in responseto determining” or “in response to detecting,” depending on the context.Similarly, the phrase “if it is determined” or “if [a stated conditionor event] is detected” may be construed to mean “upon determining” or“in response to determining” or “upon detecting [the stated condition orevent]” or “in response to detecting [the stated condition or event],”depending on the context.

1. System and Environment

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of system 100 according to variousexamples. In some examples, system 100 implements a digital assistant.The terms “digital assistant,” “virtual assistant,” “intelligentautomated assistant,” or “automatic digital assistant” refer to anyinformation processing system that interprets natural language input inspoken and/or textual form to infer user intent, and performs actionsbased on the inferred user intent. For example, to act on an inferreduser intent, the system performs one or more of the following:identifying a task flow with steps and parameters designed to accomplishthe inferred user intent, inputting specific requirements from theinferred user intent into the task flow; executing the task flow byinvoking programs, methods, services, APIs, or the like; and generatingoutput responses to the user in an audible (e.g., speech) and/or visualform.

Specifically, a digital assistant is capable of accepting a user requestat least partially in the form of a natural language command, request,statement, narrative, and/or inquiry. Typically, the user request seekseither an informational answer or performance of a task by the digitalassistant. A satisfactory response to the user request includes aprovision of the requested informational answer, a performance of therequested task, or a combination of the two. For example, a user asksthe digital assistant a question, such as “Where am I right now?” Basedon the user's current location, the digital assistant answers, “You arein Central Park near the west gate.” The user also requests theperformance of a task, for example, “Please invite my friends to mygirlfriend's birthday party next week.” In response, the digitalassistant can acknowledge the request by saying “Yes, right away,” andthen send a suitable calendar invite on behalf of the user to each ofthe user's friends listed in the user's electronic address book. Duringperformance of a requested task, the digital assistant sometimesinteracts with the user in a continuous dialogue involving multipleexchanges of information over an extended period of time. There arenumerous other ways of interacting with a digital assistant to requestinformation or performance of various tasks. In addition to providingverbal responses and taking programmed actions, the digital assistantalso provides responses in other visual or audio forms, e.g., as text,alerts, music, videos, animations, etc.

As shown in FIG. 1, in some examples, a digital assistant is implementedaccording to a client-server model. The digital assistant includesclient-side portion 102 (hereafter “DA client 102”) executed on userdevice 104 and server-side portion 106 (hereafter “DA server 106”)executed on server system 108. DA client 102 communicates with DA server106 through one or more networks 110. DA client 102 provides client-sidefunctionalities such as user-facing input and output processing andcommunication with DA server 106. DA server 106 provides server-sidefunctionalities for any number of DA clients 102 each residing on arespective user device 104.

In some examples, DA server 106 includes client-facing I/O interface112, one or more processing modules 114, data and models 116, and I/Ointerface to external services 118. The client-facing I/O interface 112facilitates the client-facing input and output processing for DA server106. One or more processing modules 114 utilize data and models 116 toprocess speech input and determine the user's intent based on naturallanguage input. Further, one or more processing modules 114 perform taskexecution based on inferred user intent. In some examples, DA server 106communicates with external services 120 through network(s) 110 for taskcompletion or information acquisition. I/O interface to externalservices 118 facilitates such communications.

User device 104 can be any suitable electronic device. In some examples,user device 104 is a portable multifunctional device (e.g., device 200,described below with reference to FIG. 2A), a multifunctional device(e.g., device 400, described below with reference to FIG. 4), or apersonal electronic device (e.g., device 600, described below withreference to FIG. 6A-B.) A portable multifunctional device is, forexample, a mobile telephone that also contains other functions, such asPDA and/or music player functions. Specific examples of portablemultifunction devices include the Apple Watch®, iPhone®, iPod Touch®,and iPad® devices from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. Other examples ofportable multifunction devices include, without limitation,earphones/headphones, speakers, and laptop or tablet computers. Further,in some examples, user device 104 is a non-portable multifunctionaldevice. In particular, user device 104 is a desktop computer, a gameconsole, a speaker, a television, or a television set-top box. In someexamples, user device 104 includes a touch-sensitive surface (e.g.,touch screen displays and/or touchpads). Further, user device 104optionally includes one or more other physical user-interface devices,such as a physical keyboard, a mouse, and/or a joystick. Variousexamples of electronic devices, such as multifunctional devices, aredescribed below in greater detail.

Examples of communication network(s) 110 include local area networks(LAN) and wide area networks (WAN), e.g., the Internet. Communicationnetwork(s) 110 is implemented using any known network protocol,including various wired or wireless protocols, such as, for example,Ethernet, Universal Serial Bus (USB), FIREWIRE, Global System for MobileCommunications (GSM), Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), codedivision multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA),Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Wi-MAX, or anyother suitable communication protocol.

Server system 108 is implemented on one or more standalone dataprocessing apparatus or a distributed network of computers. In someexamples, server system 108 also employs various virtual devices and/orservices of third-party service providers (e.g., third-party cloudservice providers) to provide the underlying computing resources and/orinfrastructure resources of server system 108.

In some examples, user device 104 communicates with DA server 106 viasecond user device 122. Second user device 122 is similar or identicalto user device 104. For example, second user device 122 is similar todevices 200, 400, or 600 described below with reference to FIGS. 2A, 4,and 6A-B. User device 104 is configured to communicatively couple tosecond user device 122 via a direct communication connection, such asBluetooth, NFC, BTLE, or the like, or via a wired or wireless network,such as a local Wi-Fi network. In some examples, second user device 122is configured to act as a proxy between user device 104 and DA server106. For example, DA client 102 of user device 104 is configured totransmit information (e.g., a user request received at user device 104)to DA server 106 via second user device 122. DA server 106 processes theinformation and returns relevant data (e.g., data content responsive tothe user request) to user device 104 via second user device 122.

In some examples, user device 104 is configured to communicateabbreviated requests for data to second user device 122 to reduce theamount of information transmitted from user device 104. Second userdevice 122 is configured to determine supplemental information to add tothe abbreviated request to generate a complete request to transmit to DAserver 106. This system architecture can advantageously allow userdevice 104 having limited communication capabilities and/or limitedbattery power (e.g., a watch or a similar compact electronic device) toaccess services provided by DA server 106 by using second user device122, having greater communication capabilities and/or battery power(e.g., a mobile phone, laptop computer, tablet computer, or the like),as a proxy to DA server 106. While only two user devices 104 and 122 areshown in FIG. 1, it should be appreciated that system 100, in someexamples, includes any number and type of user devices configured inthis proxy configuration to communicate with DA server system 106.

Although the digital assistant shown in FIG. 1 includes both aclient-side portion (e.g., DA client 102) and a server-side portion(e.g., DA server 106), in some examples, the functions of a digitalassistant are implemented as a standalone application installed on auser device. In addition, the divisions of functionalities between theclient and server portions of the digital assistant can vary indifferent implementations. For instance, in some examples, the DA clientis a thin-client that provides only user-facing input and outputprocessing functions, and delegates all other functionalities of thedigital assistant to a backend server.

2. Electronic Devices

Attention is now directed toward embodiments of electronic devices forimplementing the client-side portion of a digital assistant. FIG. 2A isa block diagram illustrating portable multifunction device 200 withtouch-sensitive display system 212 in accordance with some embodiments.Touch-sensitive display 212 is sometimes called a “touch screen” forconvenience and is sometimes known as or called a “touch-sensitivedisplay system.” Device 200 includes memory 202 (which optionallyincludes one or more computer-readable storage mediums), memorycontroller 222, one or more processing units (CPUs) 220, peripheralsinterface 218, RF circuitry 208, audio circuitry 210, speaker 211,microphone 213, input/output (I/O) subsystem 206, other input controldevices 216, and external port 224. Device 200 optionally includes oneor more optical sensors 264. Device 200 optionally includes one or morecontact intensity sensors 265 for detecting intensity of contacts ondevice 200 (e.g., a touch-sensitive surface such as touch-sensitivedisplay system 212 of device 200). Device 200 optionally includes one ormore tactile output generators 267 for generating tactile outputs ondevice 200 (e.g., generating tactile outputs on a touch-sensitivesurface such as touch-sensitive display system 212 of device 200 ortouchpad 455 of device 400). These components optionally communicateover one or more communication buses or signal lines 203.

As used in the specification and claims, the term “intensity” of acontact on a touch-sensitive surface refers to the force or pressure(force per unit area) of a contact (e.g., a finger contact) on thetouch-sensitive surface, or to a substitute (proxy) for the force orpressure of a contact on the touch-sensitive surface. The intensity of acontact has a range of values that includes at least four distinctvalues and more typically includes hundreds of distinct values (e.g., atleast 256). Intensity of a contact is, optionally, determined (ormeasured) using various approaches and various sensors or combinationsof sensors. For example, one or more force sensors underneath oradjacent to the touch-sensitive surface are, optionally, used to measureforce at various points on the touch-sensitive surface. In someimplementations, force measurements from multiple force sensors arecombined (e.g., a weighted average) to determine an estimated force of acontact. Similarly, a pressure-sensitive tip of a stylus is, optionally,used to determine a pressure of the stylus on the touch-sensitivesurface. Alternatively, the size of the contact area detected on thetouch-sensitive surface and/or changes thereto, the capacitance of thetouch-sensitive surface proximate to the contact and/or changes thereto,and/or the resistance of the touch-sensitive surface proximate to thecontact and/or changes thereto are, optionally, used as a substitute forthe force or pressure of the contact on the touch-sensitive surface. Insome implementations, the substitute measurements for contact force orpressure are used directly to determine whether an intensity thresholdhas been exceeded (e.g., the intensity threshold is described in unitscorresponding to the substitute measurements). In some implementations,the substitute measurements for contact force or pressure are convertedto an estimated force or pressure, and the estimated force or pressureis used to determine whether an intensity threshold has been exceeded(e.g., the intensity threshold is a pressure threshold measured in unitsof pressure). Using the intensity of a contact as an attribute of a userinput allows for user access to additional device functionality that mayotherwise not be accessible by the user on a reduced-size device withlimited real estate for displaying affordances (e.g., on atouch-sensitive display) and/or receiving user input (e.g., via atouch-sensitive display, a touch-sensitive surface, or aphysical/mechanical control such as a knob or a button).

As used in the specification and claims, the term “tactile output”refers to physical displacement of a device relative to a previousposition of the device, physical displacement of a component (e.g., atouch-sensitive surface) of a device relative to another component(e.g., housing) of the device, or displacement of the component relativeto a center of mass of the device that will be detected by a user withthe user's sense of touch. For example, in situations where the deviceor the component of the device is in contact with a surface of a userthat is sensitive to touch (e.g., a finger, palm, or other part of auser's hand), the tactile output generated by the physical displacementwill be interpreted by the user as a tactile sensation corresponding toa perceived change in physical characteristics of the device or thecomponent of the device. For example, movement of a touch-sensitivesurface (e.g., a touch-sensitive display or trackpad) is, optionally,interpreted by the user as a “down click” or “up click” of a physicalactuator button. In some cases, a user will feel a tactile sensationsuch as an “down click” or “up click” even when there is no movement ofa physical actuator button associated with the touch-sensitive surfacethat is physically pressed (e.g., displaced) by the user's movements. Asanother example, movement of the touch-sensitive surface is, optionally,interpreted or sensed by the user as “roughness” of the touch-sensitivesurface, even when there is no change in smoothness of thetouch-sensitive surface. While such interpretations of touch by a userwill be subject to the individualized sensory perceptions of the user,there are many sensory perceptions of touch that are common to a largemajority of users. Thus, when a tactile output is described ascorresponding to a particular sensory perception of a user (e.g., an “upclick,” a “down click,” “roughness”), unless otherwise stated, thegenerated tactile output corresponds to physical displacement of thedevice or a component thereof that will generate the described sensoryperception for a typical (or average) user.

It should be appreciated that device 200 is only one example of aportable multifunction device, and that device 200 optionally has moreor fewer components than shown, optionally combines two or morecomponents, or optionally has a different configuration or arrangementof the components. The various components shown in FIG. 2A areimplemented in hardware, software, or a combination of both hardware andsoftware, including one or more signal processing and/orapplication-specific integrated circuits.

Memory 202 includes one or more computer-readable storage mediums. Thecomputer-readable storage mediums are, for example, tangible andnon-transitory. Memory 202 includes high-speed random access memory andalso includes non-volatile memory, such as one or more magnetic diskstorage devices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid-statememory devices. Memory controller 222 controls access to memory 202 byother components of device 200.

In some examples, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium ofmemory 202 is used to store instructions (e.g., for performing aspectsof processes described below) for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as acomputer-based system, processor-containing system, or other system thatcan fetch the instructions from the instruction execution system,apparatus, or device and execute the instructions. In other examples,the instructions (e.g., for performing aspects of the processesdescribed below) are stored on a non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium of the server system 108 or are divided between thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of memory 202 and thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of server system 108.

Peripherals interface 218 is used to couple input and output peripheralsof the device to CPU 220 and memory 202. The one or more processors 220run or execute various software programs and/or sets of instructionsstored in memory 202 to perform various functions for device 200 and toprocess data. In some embodiments, peripherals interface 218, CPU 220,and memory controller 222 are implemented on a single chip, such as chip204. In some other embodiments, they are implemented on separate chips.

RF (radio frequency) circuitry 208 receives and sends RF signals, alsocalled electromagnetic signals. RF circuitry 208 converts electricalsignals to/from electromagnetic signals and communicates withcommunications networks and other communications devices via theelectromagnetic signals. RF circuitry 208 optionally includes well-knowncircuitry for performing these functions, including but not limited toan antenna system, an RF transceiver, one or more amplifiers, a tuner,one or more oscillators, a digital signal processor, a CODEC chipset, asubscriber identity module (SIM) card, memory, and so forth. RFcircuitry 208 optionally communicates with networks, such as theInternet, also referred to as the World Wide Web (WWW), an intranetand/or a wireless network, such as a cellular telephone network, awireless local area network (LAN) and/or a metropolitan area network(MAN), and other devices by wireless communication. The RF circuitry 208optionally includes well-known circuitry for detecting near fieldcommunication (NFC) fields, such as by a short-range communicationradio. The wireless communication optionally uses any of a plurality ofcommunications standards, protocols, and technologies, including but notlimited to Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced DataGSM Environment (EDGE), high-speed downlink packet access (HSDPA),high-speed uplink packet access (HSUPA), Evolution, Data-Only (EV-DO),HSPA, HSPA+, Dual-Cell HSPA (DC-HSPDA), long term evolution (LTE), nearfield communication (NFC), wideband code division multiple access(W-CDMA), code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multipleaccess (TDMA), Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BTLE), Wireless Fidelity(Wi-Fi) (e.g., IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n,and/or IEEE 802.11ac), voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Wi-MAX, aprotocol for e mail (e.g., Internet message access protocol (IMAP)and/or post office protocol (POP)), instant messaging (e.g., extensiblemessaging and presence protocol (XMPP), Session Initiation Protocol forInstant Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions (SIMPLE), InstantMessaging and Presence Service (IMPS)), and/or Short Message Service(SMS), or any other suitable communication protocol, includingcommunication protocols not yet developed as of the filing date of thisdocument.

Audio circuitry 210, speaker 211, and microphone 213 provide an audiointerface between a user and device 200. Audio circuitry 210 receivesaudio data from peripherals interface 218, converts the audio data to anelectrical signal, and transmits the electrical signal to speaker 211.Speaker 211 converts the electrical signal to human-audible sound waves.Audio circuitry 210 also receives electrical signals converted bymicrophone 213 from sound waves. Audio circuitry 210 converts theelectrical signal to audio data and transmits the audio data toperipherals interface 218 for processing. Audio data are retrieved fromand/or transmitted to memory 202 and/or RF circuitry 208 by peripheralsinterface 218. In some embodiments, audio circuitry 210 also includes aheadset jack (e.g., 312, FIG. 3). The headset jack provides an interfacebetween audio circuitry 210 and removable audio input/outputperipherals, such as output-only headphones or a headset with bothoutput (e.g., a headphone for one or both ears) and input (e.g., amicrophone).

I/O subsystem 206 couples input/output peripherals on device 200, suchas touch screen 212 and other input control devices 216, to peripheralsinterface 218. I/O subsystem 206 optionally includes display controller256, optical sensor controller 258, depth camera controller 269,intensity sensor controller 259, haptic feedback controller 261, and oneor more input controllers 260 for other input or control devices. Theone or more input controllers 260 receive/send electrical signalsfrom/to other input control devices 216. The other input control devices216 optionally include physical buttons (e.g., push buttons, rockerbuttons, etc.), dials, slider switches, joysticks, click wheels, and soforth. In some alternate embodiments, input controller(s) 260 are,optionally, coupled to any (or none) of the following: a keyboard, aninfrared port, a USB port, and a pointer device such as a mouse. The oneor more buttons (e.g., 308, FIG. 3) optionally include an up/down buttonfor volume control of speaker 211 and/or microphone 213. The one or morebuttons optionally include a push button (e.g., 306, FIG. 3).

A quick press of the push button optionally disengages a lock of touchscreen 212 or optionally begins a process that uses gestures on thetouch screen to unlock the device, as described in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/322,549, “Unlocking a Device by PerformingGestures on an Unlock Image,” filed Dec. 23, 2005, U.S. Pat. No.7,657,849, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Alonger press of the push button (e.g., 306) optionally turns power todevice 200 on or off. The functionality of one or more of the buttonsis, optionally, user customizable. Touch screen 212 is used to implementvirtual or soft buttons and one or more soft keyboards.

Touch-sensitive display 212 provides an input interface and an outputinterface between the device and a user. Display controller 256 receivesand/or sends electrical signals from/to touch screen 212. Touch screen212 displays visual output to the user. The visual output optionallyincludes graphics, text, icons, video, and any combination thereof(collectively termed “graphics”). In some embodiments, some or all ofthe visual output optionally corresponds to user-interface objects.

Touch screen 212 has a touch-sensitive surface, sensor, or set ofsensors that accepts input from the user based on haptic and/or tactilecontact. Touch screen 212 and display controller 256 (along with anyassociated modules and/or sets of instructions in memory 202) detectcontact (and any movement or breaking of the contact) on touch screen212 and convert the detected contact into interaction withuser-interface objects (e.g., one or more soft keys, icons, web pages,or images) that are displayed on touch screen 212. In an exemplaryembodiment, a point of contact between touch screen 212 and the usercorresponds to a finger of the user.

Touch screen 212 optionally uses LCD (liquid crystal display)technology, LPD (light emitting polymer display) technology, or LED(light emitting diode) technology, although other display technologiesare used in other embodiments. Touch screen 212 and display controller256 optionally detect contact and any movement or breaking thereof usingany of a plurality of touch sensing technologies now known or laterdeveloped, including but not limited to capacitive, resistive, infrared,and surface acoustic wave technologies, as well as other proximitysensor arrays or other elements for determining one or more points ofcontact with touch screen 212. In an exemplary embodiment, projectedmutual capacitance sensing technology is used, such as that found in theiPhone® and iPod Touch® from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.

A touch-sensitive display in some embodiments of touch screen 212 is,optionally, analogous to the multi-touch sensitive touchpads describedin the following U.S. Pat. No. 6,323,846 (Westerman et al.), U.S. Pat.No. 6,570,557 (Westerman et al.), and/or U.S. Pat. No. 6,677,932(Westerman), and/or U.S. Patent Publication 2002/0015024A1, each ofwhich is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. However,touch screen 212 displays visual output from device 200, whereastouch-sensitive touchpads do not provide visual output.

A touch-sensitive display in some embodiments of touch screen 212 isdescribed in the following applications: (1) U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/381,313, “Multipoint Touch Surface Controller,” filed May 2,2006; (2) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/840,862, “MultipointTouchscreen,” filed May 6, 2004; (3) U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/903,964, “Gestures For Touch Sensitive Input Devices,” filed Jul. 30,2004; (4) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/048,264, “Gestures ForTouch Sensitive Input Devices,” filed Jan. 31, 2005; (5) U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/038,590, “Mode-Based Graphical User InterfacesFor Touch Sensitive Input Devices,” filed Jan. 18, 2005; (6) U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/228,758, “Virtual Input Device Placement On ATouch Screen User Interface,” filed Sep. 16, 2005; (7) U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/228,700, “Operation Of A Computer With A TouchScreen Interface,” filed Sep. 16, 2005; (8) U.S. patent application Ser.No. 11/228,737, “Activating Virtual Keys Of A Touch-Screen VirtualKeyboard,” filed Sep. 16, 2005; and (9) U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/367,749, “Multi-Functional Hand-Held Device,” filed Mar. 3, 2006. Allof these applications are incorporated by reference herein in theirentirety.

Touch screen 212 optionally has a video resolution in excess of 100 dpi.In some embodiments, the touch screen has a video resolution ofapproximately 160 dpi. The user optionally makes contact with touchscreen 212 using any suitable object or appendage, such as a stylus, afinger, and so forth. In some embodiments, the user interface isdesigned to work primarily with finger-based contacts and gestures,which can be less precise than stylus-based input due to the larger areaof contact of a finger on the touch screen. In some embodiments, thedevice translates the rough finger-based input into a precisepointer/cursor position or command for performing the actions desired bythe user.

In some embodiments, in addition to the touch screen, device 200optionally includes a touchpad for activating or deactivating particularfunctions. In some embodiments, the touchpad is a touch-sensitive areaof the device that, unlike the touch screen, does not display visualoutput. The touchpad is, optionally, a touch-sensitive surface that isseparate from touch screen 212 or an extension of the touch-sensitivesurface formed by the touch screen.

Device 200 also includes power system 262 for powering the variouscomponents. Power system 262 optionally includes a power managementsystem, one or more power sources (e.g., battery, alternating current(AC)), a recharging system, a power failure detection circuit, a powerconverter or inverter, a power status indicator (e.g., a light-emittingdiode (LED)) and any other components associated with the generation,management and distribution of power in portable devices.

Device 200 optionally also includes one or more optical sensors 264.FIG. 2A shows an optical sensor coupled to optical sensor controller 258in I/O subsystem 206. Optical sensor 264 includes charge-coupled device(CCD) or complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS)phototransistors. Optical sensor 264 optionally receives light from theenvironment, projected through one or more lenses, and converts thelight to data representing an image. In conjunction with imaging module243 (also called a camera module), optical sensor 264 captures stillimages or video. In some embodiments, an optical sensor is located onthe back of device 200, opposite touch screen display 212 on the frontof the device so that the touch screen display is enabled for use as aviewfinder for still and/or video image acquisition. In someembodiments, an optical sensor is located on the front of the device sothat the user's image is, optionally, obtained for video conferencingwhile the user views the other video conference participants on thetouch screen display. In some embodiments, the position of opticalsensor 264 can be changed by the user (e.g., by rotating the lens andthe sensor in the device housing) so that a single optical sensor 264 isused along with the touch screen display for both video conferencing andstill and/or video image acquisition.

Device 200 optionally also includes one or more depth camera sensors275. FIG. 2A shows a depth camera sensor coupled to depth cameracontroller 269 in I/O subsystem 206. Depth camera sensor 275 receivesdata from the environment to create a three dimensional model of anobject (e.g., a face) within a scene from a viewpoint (e.g., a depthcamera sensor). In some embodiments, in conjunction with imaging module243 (also called a camera module), depth camera sensor 275 is optionallyused to determine a depth map of different portions of an image capturedby the imaging module 243. In some embodiments, a depth camera sensor islocated on the front of device 200 so that the user's image with depthinformation is, optionally, obtained for video conferencing while theuser views the other video conference participants on the touch screendisplay and to capture selfies with depth map data. In some embodiments,the depth camera sensor 275 is located on the back of device, or on theback and the front of the device 200. In some embodiments, the positionof depth camera sensor 275 can be changed by the user (e.g., by rotatingthe lens and the sensor in the device housing) so that a depth camerasensor 275 is used along with the touch screen display for both videoconferencing and still and/or video image acquisition.

In some embodiments, a depth map (e.g., depth map image) containsinformation (e.g., values) that relates to the distance of objects in ascene from a viewpoint (e.g., a camera, an optical sensor, a depthcamera sensor). In one embodiment of a depth map, each depth pixeldefines the position in the viewpoint's Z-axis where its correspondingtwo-dimensional pixel is located. In some embodiments, a depth map iscomposed of pixels wherein each pixel is defined by a value (e.g.,0-255). For example, the “0” value represents pixels that are located atthe most distant place in a “three dimensional” scene and the “255”value represents pixels that are located closest to a viewpoint (e.g., acamera, an optical sensor, a depth camera sensor) in the “threedimensional” scene. In other embodiments, a depth map represents thedistance between an object in a scene and the plane of the viewpoint. Insome embodiments, the depth map includes information about the relativedepth of various features of an object of interest in view of the depthcamera (e.g., the relative depth of eyes, nose, mouth, ears of a user'sface). In some embodiments, the depth map includes information thatenables the device to determine contours of the object of interest in az direction.

Device 200 optionally also includes one or more contact intensitysensors 265. FIG. 2A shows a contact intensity sensor coupled tointensity sensor controller 259 in I/O subsystem 206. Contact intensitysensor 265 optionally includes one or more piezoresistive strain gauges,capacitive force sensors, electric force sensors, piezoelectric forcesensors, optical force sensors, capacitive touch-sensitive surfaces, orother intensity sensors (e.g., sensors used to measure the force (orpressure) of a contact on a touch-sensitive surface). Contact intensitysensor 265 receives contact intensity information (e.g., pressureinformation or a proxy for pressure information) from the environment.In some embodiments, at least one contact intensity sensor is collocatedwith, or proximate to, a touch-sensitive surface (e.g., touch-sensitivedisplay system 212). In some embodiments, at least one contact intensitysensor is located on the back of device 200, opposite touch screendisplay 212, which is located on the front of device 200.

Device 200 optionally also includes one or more proximity sensors 266.FIG. 2A shows proximity sensor 266 coupled to peripherals interface 218.Alternately, proximity sensor 266 is, optionally, coupled to inputcontroller 260 in I/O subsystem 206. Proximity sensor 266 optionallyperforms as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/241,839,“Proximity Detector In Handheld Device”; Ser. No. 11/240,788, “ProximityDetector In Handheld Device”, Ser. No. 11/620,702, “Using Ambient LightSensor To Augment Proximity Sensor Output”; Ser. No. 11/586,862,“Automated Response To And Sensing Of User Activity In PortableDevices”; and Ser. No. 11/638,251, “Methods And Systems For AutomaticConfiguration Of Peripherals,” which are hereby incorporated byreference in their entirety. In some embodiments, the proximity sensorturns off and disables touch screen 212 when the multifunction device isplaced near the user's ear (e.g., when the user is making a phone call).

Device 200 optionally also includes one or more tactile outputgenerators 267. FIG. 2A shows a tactile output generator coupled tohaptic feedback controller 261 in I/O subsystem 206. Tactile outputgenerator 267 optionally includes one or more electroacoustic devicessuch as speakers or other audio components and/or electromechanicaldevices that convert energy into linear motion such as a motor,solenoid, electroactive polymer, piezoelectric actuator, electrostaticactuator, or other tactile output generating component (e.g., acomponent that converts electrical signals into tactile outputs on thedevice). Contact intensity sensor 265 receives tactile feedbackgeneration instructions from haptic feedback module 233 and generatestactile outputs on device 200 that are capable of being sensed by a userof device 200. In some embodiments, at least one tactile outputgenerator is collocated with, or proximate to, a touch-sensitive surface(e.g., touch-sensitive display system 212) and, optionally, generates atactile output by moving the touch-sensitive surface vertically (e.g.,in/out of a surface of device 200) or laterally (e.g., back and forth inthe same plane as a surface of device 200). In some embodiments, atleast one tactile output generator sensor is located on the back ofdevice 200, opposite touch screen display 212, which is located on thefront of device 200.

Device 200 optionally also includes one or more accelerometers 268. FIG.2A shows accelerometer 268 coupled to peripherals interface 218.Alternately, accelerometer 268 is, optionally, coupled to an inputcontroller 260 in I/O subsystem 206. Accelerometer 268 optionallyperforms as described in U.S. Patent Publication No. 20050190059,“Acceleration-based Theft Detection System for Portable ElectronicDevices,” and U.S. Patent Publication No. 20060017692, “Methods AndApparatuses For Operating A Portable Device Based On An Accelerometer,”both of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. Insome embodiments, information is displayed on the touch screen displayin a portrait view or a landscape view based on an analysis of datareceived from the one or more accelerometers. Device 200 optionallyincludes, in addition to accelerometer(s) 268, a magnetometer and a GPS(or GLONASS or other global navigation system) receiver for obtaininginformation concerning the location and orientation (e.g., portrait orlandscape) of device 200.

In some embodiments, the software components stored in memory 202include operating system 226, communication module (or set ofinstructions) 228, contact/motion module (or set of instructions) 230,graphics module (or set of instructions) 232, text input module (or setof instructions) 234, Global Positioning System (GPS) module (or set ofinstructions) 235, Digital Assistant Client Module 229, and applications(or sets of instructions) 236. Further, memory 202 stores data andmodels, such as user data and models 231. Furthermore, in someembodiments, memory 202 (FIG. 2A) or 470 (FIG. 4) stores device/globalinternal state 257, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 4. Device/global internalstate 257 includes one or more of: active application state, indicatingwhich applications, if any, are currently active; display state,indicating what applications, views or other information occupy variousregions of touch screen display 212; sensor state, including informationobtained from the device's various sensors and input control devices216; and location information concerning the device's location and/orattitude.

Operating system 226 (e.g., Darwin, RTXC, LINUX, UNIX, OS X, iOS,WINDOWS, or an embedded operating system such as VxWorks) includesvarious software components and/or drivers for controlling and managinggeneral system tasks (e.g., memory management, storage device control,power management, etc.) and facilitates communication between varioushardware and software components.

Communication module 228 facilitates communication with other devicesover one or more external ports 224 and also includes various softwarecomponents for handling data received by RF circuitry 208 and/orexternal port 224. External port 224 (e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB),FIREWIRE, etc.) is adapted for coupling directly to other devices orindirectly over a network (e.g., the Internet, wireless LAN, etc.). Insome embodiments, the external port is a multi-pin (e.g., 30-pin)connector that is the same as, or similar to and/or compatible with, the30-pin connector used on iPod® (trademark of Apple Inc.) devices.

Contact/motion module 230 optionally detects contact with touch screen212 (in conjunction with display controller 256) and othertouch-sensitive devices (e.g., a touchpad or physical click wheel).Contact/motion module 230 includes various software components forperforming various operations related to detection of contact, such asdetermining if contact has occurred (e.g., detecting a finger-downevent), determining an intensity of the contact (e.g., the force orpressure of the contact or a substitute for the force or pressure of thecontact), determining if there is movement of the contact and trackingthe movement across the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., detecting one ormore finger-dragging events), and determining if the contact has ceased(e.g., detecting a finger-up event or a break in contact).Contact/motion module 230 receives contact data from the touch-sensitivesurface. Determining movement of the point of contact, which isrepresented by a series of contact data, optionally includes determiningspeed (magnitude), velocity (magnitude and direction), and/or anacceleration (a change in magnitude and/or direction) of the point ofcontact. These operations are, optionally, applied to single contacts(e.g., one finger contacts) or to multiple simultaneous contacts (e.g.,“multitouch”/multiple finger contacts). In some embodiments,contact/motion module 230 and display controller 256 detect contact on atouchpad.

In some embodiments, contact/motion module 230 uses a set of one or moreintensity thresholds to determine whether an operation has beenperformed by a user (e.g., to determine whether a user has “clicked” onan icon). In some embodiments, at least a subset of the intensitythresholds are determined in accordance with software parameters (e.g.,the intensity thresholds are not determined by the activation thresholdsof particular physical actuators and can be adjusted without changingthe physical hardware of device 200). For example, a mouse “click”threshold of a trackpad or touch screen display can be set to any of alarge range of predefined threshold values without changing the trackpador touch screen display hardware. Additionally, in some implementations,a user of the device is provided with software settings for adjustingone or more of the set of intensity thresholds (e.g., by adjustingindividual intensity thresholds and/or by adjusting a plurality ofintensity thresholds at once with a system-level click “intensity”parameter).

Contact/motion module 230 optionally detects a gesture input by a user.Different gestures on the touch-sensitive surface have different contactpatterns (e.g., different motions, timings, and/or intensities ofdetected contacts). Thus, a gesture is, optionally, detected bydetecting a particular contact pattern. For example, detecting a fingertap gesture includes detecting a finger-down event followed by detectinga finger-up (liftoff) event at the same position (or substantially thesame position) as the finger-down event (e.g., at the position of anicon). As another example, detecting a finger swipe gesture on thetouch-sensitive surface includes detecting a finger-down event followedby detecting one or more finger-dragging events, and subsequentlyfollowed by detecting a finger-up (liftoff) event.

Graphics module 232 includes various known software components forrendering and displaying graphics on touch screen 212 or other display,including components for changing the visual impact (e.g., brightness,transparency, saturation, contrast, or other visual property) ofgraphics that are displayed. As used herein, the term “graphics”includes any object that can be displayed to a user, including, withoutlimitation, text, web pages, icons (such as user-interface objectsincluding soft keys), digital images, videos, animations, and the like.

In some embodiments, graphics module 232 stores data representinggraphics to be used. Each graphic is, optionally, assigned acorresponding code. Graphics module 232 receives, from applicationsetc., one or more codes specifying graphics to be displayed along with,if necessary, coordinate data and other graphic property data, and thengenerates screen image data to output to display controller 256.

Haptic feedback module 233 includes various software components forgenerating instructions used by tactile output generator(s) 267 toproduce tactile outputs at one or more locations on device 200 inresponse to user interactions with device 200.

Text input module 234, which is optionally, a component of graphicsmodule 232, provides soft keyboards for entering text in variousapplications (e.g., contacts 237, email 240, IM 241, browser 247, andany other application that needs text input).

GPS module 235 determines the location of the device and provides thisinformation for use in various applications (e.g., to telephone 238 foruse in location-based dialing; to camera 243 as picture/video metadata;and to applications that provide location-based services such as weatherwidgets, local yellow page widgets, and map/navigation widgets).

Digital assistant client module 229 includes various client-side digitalassistant instructions to provide the client-side functionalities of thedigital assistant. For example, digital assistant client module 229 iscapable of accepting voice input (e.g., speech input), text input, touchinput, and/or gestural input through various user interfaces (e.g.,microphone 213, accelerometer(s) 268, touch-sensitive display system212, optical sensor(s) 229, other input control devices 216, etc.) ofportable multifunction device 200. Digital assistant client module 229is also capable of providing output in audio (e.g., speech output),visual, and/or tactile forms through various output interfaces (e.g.,speaker 211, touch-sensitive display system 212, tactile outputgenerator(s) 267, etc.) of portable multifunction device 200. Forexample, output is provided as voice, sound, alerts, text messages,menus, graphics, videos, animations, vibrations, and/or combinations oftwo or more of the above. During operation, digital assistant clientmodule 229 communicates with DA server 106 using RF circuitry 208.

User data and models 231 include various data associated with the user(e.g., user-specific vocabulary data, user preference data,user-specified name pronunciations, data from the user's electronicaddress book, to-do lists, shopping lists, etc.) to provide theclient-side functionalities of the digital assistant. Further, user dataand models 231 include various models (e.g., speech recognition models,statistical language models, natural language processing models,ontology, task flow models, service models, etc.) for processing userinput and determining user intent.

In some examples, digital assistant client module 229 utilizes thevarious sensors, subsystems, and peripheral devices of portablemultifunction device 200 to gather additional information from thesurrounding environment of the portable multifunction device 200 toestablish a context associated with a user, the current userinteraction, and/or the current user input. In some examples, digitalassistant client module 229 provides the contextual information or asubset thereof with the user input to DA server 106 to help infer theuser's intent. In some examples, the digital assistant also uses thecontextual information to determine how to prepare and deliver outputsto the user. Contextual information is referred to as context data.

In some examples, the contextual information that accompanies the userinput includes sensor information, e.g., lighting, ambient noise,ambient temperature, images or videos of the surrounding environment,etc. In some examples, the contextual information can also include thephysical state of the device, e.g., device orientation, device location,device temperature, power level, speed, acceleration, motion patterns,cellular signals strength, etc. In some examples, information related tothe software state of DA server 106, e.g., running processes, installedprograms, past and present network activities, background services,error logs, resources usage, etc., and of portable multifunction device200 is provided to DA server 106 as contextual information associatedwith a user input.

In some examples, the digital assistant client module 229 selectivelyprovides information (e.g., user data 231) stored on the portablemultifunction device 200 in response to requests from DA server 106. Insome examples, digital assistant client module 229 also elicitsadditional input from the user via a natural language dialogue or otheruser interfaces upon request by DA server 106. Digital assistant clientmodule 229 passes the additional input to DA server 106 to help DAserver 106 in intent deduction and/or fulfillment of the user's intentexpressed in the user request.

A more detailed description of a digital assistant is described belowwith reference to FIGS. 7A-C. It should be recognized that digitalassistant client module 229 can include any number of the sub-modules ofdigital assistant module 726 described below.

Applications 236 optionally include the following modules (or sets ofinstructions), or a subset or superset thereof:

-   -   Contacts module 237 (sometimes called an address book or contact        list);    -   Telephone module 238;    -   Video conference module 239;    -   E-mail client module 240;    -   Instant messaging (IM) module 241;    -   Workout support module 242;    -   Camera module 243 for still and/or video images;    -   Image management module 244;    -   Video player module;    -   Music player module;    -   Browser module 247;    -   Calendar module 248;    -   Widget modules 249, which optionally include one or more of:        weather widget 249-1, stocks widget 249-2, calculator widget        249-3, alarm clock widget 249-4, dictionary widget 249-5, and        other widgets obtained by the user, as well as user-created        widgets 249-6;    -   Widget creator module 250 for making user-created widgets 249-6;    -   Search module 251;    -   Video and music player module 252, which merges video player        module and music player module;    -   Notes module 253;    -   Map module 254; and/or    -   Online video module 255.

Examples of other applications 236 that are, optionally, stored inmemory 202 include other word processing applications, other imageediting applications, drawing applications, presentation applications,JAVA-enabled applications, encryption, digital rights management, voicerecognition, and voice replication.

In conjunction with touch screen 212, display controller 256,contact/motion module 230, graphics module 232, and text input module234, contacts module 237 are, optionally, used to manage an address bookor contact list (e.g., stored in application internal state 292 ofcontacts module 237 in memory 202 or memory 470), including: addingname(s) to the address book; deleting name(s) from the address book;associating telephone number(s), e-mail address(es), physicaladdress(es) or other information with a name; associating an image witha name; categorizing and sorting names; providing telephone numbers ore-mail addresses to initiate and/or facilitate communications bytelephone 238, video conference module 239, e-mail 240, or IM 241; andso forth.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 208, audio circuitry 210, speaker 211,microphone 213, touch screen 212, display controller 256, contact/motionmodule 230, graphics module 232, and text input module 234, telephonemodule 238 are, optionally, used to enter a sequence of characterscorresponding to a telephone number, access one or more telephonenumbers in contacts module 237, modify a telephone number that has beenentered, dial a respective telephone number, conduct a conversation, anddisconnect or hang up when the conversation is completed. As notedabove, the wireless communication optionally uses any of a plurality ofcommunications standards, protocols, and technologies.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 208, audio circuitry 210, speaker 211,microphone 213, touch screen 212, display controller 256, optical sensor264, optical sensor controller 258, contact/motion module 230, graphicsmodule 232, text input module 234, contacts module 237, and telephonemodule 238, video conference module 239 includes executable instructionsto initiate, conduct, and terminate a video conference between a userand one or more other participants in accordance with user instructions.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 208, touch screen 212, displaycontroller 256, contact/motion module 230, graphics module 232, and textinput module 234, e-mail client module 240 includes executableinstructions to create, send, receive, and manage e-mail in response touser instructions. In conjunction with image management module 244,e-mail client module 240 makes it very easy to create and send e-mailswith still or video images taken with camera module 243.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 208, touch screen 212, displaycontroller 256, contact/motion module 230, graphics module 232, and textinput module 234, the instant messaging module 241 includes executableinstructions to enter a sequence of characters corresponding to aninstant message, to modify previously entered characters, to transmit arespective instant message (for example, using a Short Message Service(SMS) or Multimedia Message Service (MMS) protocol for telephony-basedinstant messages or using XMPP, SIMPLE, or IMPS for Internet-basedinstant messages), to receive instant messages, and to view receivedinstant messages. In some embodiments, transmitted and/or receivedinstant messages optionally include graphics, photos, audio files, videofiles and/or other attachments as are supported in an MMS and/or anEnhanced Messaging Service (EMS). As used herein, “instant messaging”refers to both telephony-based messages (e.g., messages sent using SMSor MMS) and Internet-based messages (e.g., messages sent using XMPP,SIMPLE, or IMPS).

In conjunction with RF circuitry 208, touch screen 212, displaycontroller 256, contact/motion module 230, graphics module 232, textinput module 234, GPS module 235, map module 254, and music playermodule, workout support module 242 includes executable instructions tocreate workouts (e.g., with time, distance, and/or calorie burninggoals); communicate with workout sensors (sports devices); receiveworkout sensor data; calibrate sensors used to monitor a workout; selectand play music for a workout, and display, store, and transmit workoutdata.

In conjunction with touch screen 212, display controller 256, opticalsensor(s) 264, optical sensor controller 258, contact/motion module 230,graphics module 232, and image management module 244, camera module 243includes executable instructions to capture still images or video(including a video stream) and store them into memory 202, modifycharacteristics of a still image or video, or delete a still image orvideo from memory 202.

In conjunction with touch screen 212, display controller 256,contact/motion module 230, graphics module 232, text input module 234,and camera module 243, image management module 244 includes executableinstructions to arrange, modify (e.g., edit), or otherwise manipulate,label, delete, present (e.g., in a digital slide show or album), andstore still and/or video images.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 208, touch screen 212, displaycontroller 256, contact/motion module 230, graphics module 232, and textinput module 234, browser module 247 includes executable instructions tobrowse the Internet in accordance with user instructions, includingsearching, linking to, receiving, and displaying web pages or portionsthereof, as well as attachments and other files linked to web pages.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 208, touch screen 212, displaycontroller 256, contact/motion module 230, graphics module 232, textinput module 234, e-mail client module 240, and browser module 247,calendar module 248 includes executable instructions to create, display,modify, and store calendars and data associated with calendars (e.g.,calendar entries, to-do lists, etc.) in accordance with userinstructions.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 208, touch screen 212, displaycontroller 256, contact/motion module 230, graphics module 232, textinput module 234, and browser module 247, widget modules 249 aremini-applications that are, optionally, downloaded and used by a user(e.g., weather widget 249-1, stocks widget 249-2, calculator widget249-3, alarm clock widget 249-4, and dictionary widget 249-5) or createdby the user (e.g., user-created widget 249-6). In some embodiments, awidget includes an HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) file, a CSS(Cascading Style Sheets) file, and a JavaScript file. In someembodiments, a widget includes an XML (Extensible Markup Language) fileand a JavaScript file (e.g., Yahoo!Widgets).

In conjunction with RF circuitry 208, touch screen 212, displaycontroller 256, contact/motion module 230, graphics module 232, textinput module 234, and browser module 247, the widget creator module 250are, optionally, used by a user to create widgets (e.g., turning auser-specified portion of a web page into a widget).

In conjunction with touch screen 212, display controller 256,contact/motion module 230, graphics module 232, and text input module234, search module 251 includes executable instructions to search fortext, music, sound, image, video, and/or other files in memory 202 thatmatch one or more search criteria (e.g., one or more user-specifiedsearch terms) in accordance with user instructions.

In conjunction with touch screen 212, display controller 256,contact/motion module 230, graphics module 232, audio circuitry 210,speaker 211, RF circuitry 208, and browser module 247, video and musicplayer module 252 includes executable instructions that allow the userto download and play back recorded music and other sound files stored inone or more file formats, such as MP3 or AAC files, and executableinstructions to display, present, or otherwise play back videos (e.g.,on touch screen 212 or on an external, connected display via externalport 224). In some embodiments, device 200 optionally includes thefunctionality of an MP3 player, such as an iPod (trademark of AppleInc.).

In conjunction with touch screen 212, display controller 256,contact/motion module 230, graphics module 232, and text input module234, notes module 253 includes executable instructions to create andmanage notes, to-do lists, and the like in accordance with userinstructions.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 208, touch screen 212, displaycontroller 256, contact/motion module 230, graphics module 232, textinput module 234, GPS module 235, and browser module 247, map module 254are, optionally, used to receive, display, modify, and store maps anddata associated with maps (e.g., driving directions, data on stores andother points of interest at or near a particular location, and otherlocation-based data) in accordance with user instructions.

In conjunction with touch screen 212, display controller 256,contact/motion module 230, graphics module 232, audio circuitry 210,speaker 211, RF circuitry 208, text input module 234, e-mail clientmodule 240, and browser module 247, online video module 255 includesinstructions that allow the user to access, browse, receive (e.g., bystreaming and/or download), play back (e.g., on the touch screen or onan external, connected display via external port 224), send an e-mailwith a link to a particular online video, and otherwise manage onlinevideos in one or more file formats, such as H.264. In some embodiments,instant messaging module 241, rather than e-mail client module 240, isused to send a link to a particular online video. Additional descriptionof the online video application can be found in U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 60/936,562, “Portable Multifunction Device, Method, andGraphical User Interface for Playing Online Videos,” filed Jun. 20,2007, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/968,067, “PortableMultifunction Device, Method, and Graphical User Interface for PlayingOnline Videos,” filed Dec. 31, 2007, the contents of which are herebyincorporated by reference in their entirety.

Each of the above-identified modules and applications corresponds to aset of executable instructions for performing one or more functionsdescribed above and the methods described in this application (e.g., thecomputer-implemented methods and other information processing methodsdescribed herein). These modules (e.g., sets of instructions) need notbe implemented as separate software programs, procedures, or modules,and thus various subsets of these modules are, optionally, combined orotherwise rearranged in various embodiments. For example, video playermodule is optionally, combined with music player module into a singlemodule (e.g., video and music player module 252, FIG. 2A). In someembodiments, memory 202 optionally stores a subset of the modules anddata structures identified above. Furthermore, memory 202 optionallystores additional modules and data structures not described above.

In some embodiments, device 200 is a device where operation of apredefined set of functions on the device is performed exclusivelythrough a touch screen and/or a touchpad. By using a touch screen and/ora touchpad as the primary input control device for operation of device200, the number of physical input control devices (such as push buttons,dials, and the like) on device 200 is, optionally, reduced.

The predefined set of functions that are performed exclusively through atouch screen and/or a touchpad optionally include navigation betweenuser interfaces. In some embodiments, the touchpad, when touched by theuser, navigates device 200 to a main, home, or root menu from any userinterface that is displayed on device 200. In such embodiments, a “menubutton” is implemented using a touchpad. In some other embodiments, themenu button is a physical push button or other physical input controldevice instead of a touchpad.

FIG. 2B is a block diagram illustrating exemplary components for eventhandling in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments,memory 202 (FIG. 2A) or 470 (FIG. 4) includes event sorter 270 (e.g., inoperating system 226) and a respective application 236-1 (e.g., any ofthe aforementioned applications 237-251, 255, 480-490).

Event sorter 270 receives event information and determines theapplication 236-1 and application view 291 of application 236-1 to whichto deliver the event information. Event sorter 270 includes eventmonitor 271 and event dispatcher module 274. In some embodiments,application 236-1 includes application internal state 292, whichindicates the current application view(s) displayed on touch-sensitivedisplay 212 when the application is active or executing. In someembodiments, device/global internal state 257 is used by event sorter270 to determine which application(s) is (are) currently active, andapplication internal state 292 is used by event sorter 270 to determineapplication views 291 to which to deliver event information.

In some embodiments, application internal state 292 includes additionalinformation, such as one or more of: resume information to be used whenapplication 236-1 resumes execution, user interface state informationthat indicates information being displayed or that is ready for displayby application 236-1, a state queue for enabling the user to go back toa prior state or view of application 236-1, and a redo/undo queue ofprevious actions taken by the user.

Event monitor 271 receives event information from peripherals interface218. Event information includes information about a sub-event (e.g., auser touch on touch-sensitive display 212, as part of a multi-touchgesture). Peripherals interface 218 transmits information it receivesfrom I/O subsystem 206 or a sensor, such as proximity sensor 266,accelerometer(s) 268, and/or microphone 213 (through audio circuitry210). Information that peripherals interface 218 receives from I/Osubsystem 206 includes information from touch-sensitive display 212 or atouch-sensitive surface.

In some embodiments, event monitor 271 sends requests to the peripheralsinterface 218 at predetermined intervals. In response, peripheralsinterface 218 transmits event information. In other embodiments,peripherals interface 218 transmits event information only when there isa significant event (e.g., receiving an input above a predeterminednoise threshold and/or for more than a predetermined duration).

In some embodiments, event sorter 270 also includes a hit viewdetermination module 272 and/or an active event recognizer determinationmodule 273.

Hit view determination module 272 provides software procedures fordetermining where a sub-event has taken place within one or more viewswhen touch-sensitive display 212 displays more than one view. Views aremade up of controls and other elements that a user can see on thedisplay.

Another aspect of the user interface associated with an application is aset of views, sometimes herein called application views or userinterface windows, in which information is displayed and touch-basedgestures occur. The application views (of a respective application) inwhich a touch is detected optionally correspond to programmatic levelswithin a programmatic or view hierarchy of the application. For example,the lowest level view in which a touch is detected is, optionally,called the hit view, and the set of events that are recognized as properinputs are, optionally, determined based, at least in part, on the hitview of the initial touch that begins a touch-based gesture.

Hit view determination module 272 receives information related to subevents of a touch-based gesture. When an application has multiple viewsorganized in a hierarchy, hit view determination module 272 identifies ahit view as the lowest view in the hierarchy which should handle thesub-event. In most circumstances, the hit view is the lowest level viewin which an initiating sub-event occurs (e.g., the first sub-event inthe sequence of sub-events that form an event or potential event). Oncethe hit view is identified by the hit view determination module 272, thehit view typically receives all sub-events related to the same touch orinput source for which it was identified as the hit view.

Active event recognizer determination module 273 determines which viewor views within a view hierarchy should receive a particular sequence ofsub-events. In some embodiments, active event recognizer determinationmodule 273 determines that only the hit view should receive a particularsequence of sub-events. In other embodiments, active event recognizerdetermination module 273 determines that all views that include thephysical location of a sub-event are actively involved views, andtherefore determines that all actively involved views should receive aparticular sequence of sub-events. In other embodiments, even if touchsub-events were entirely confined to the area associated with oneparticular view, views higher in the hierarchy would still remain asactively involved views.

Event dispatcher module 274 dispatches the event information to an eventrecognizer (e.g., event recognizer 280). In embodiments including activeevent recognizer determination module 273, event dispatcher module 274delivers the event information to an event recognizer determined byactive event recognizer determination module 273. In some embodiments,event dispatcher module 274 stores in an event queue the eventinformation, which is retrieved by a respective event receiver 282.

In some embodiments, operating system 226 includes event sorter 270.Alternatively, application 236-1 includes event sorter 270. In yet otherembodiments, event sorter 270 is a stand-alone module, or a part ofanother module stored in memory 202, such as contact/motion module 230.

In some embodiments, application 236-1 includes a plurality of eventhandlers 290 and one or more application views 291, each of whichincludes instructions for handling touch events that occur within arespective view of the application's user interface. Each applicationview 291 of the application 236-1 includes one or more event recognizers280. Typically, a respective application view 291 includes a pluralityof event recognizers 280. In other embodiments, one or more of eventrecognizers 280 are part of a separate module, such as a user interfacekit or a higher level object from which application 236-1 inheritsmethods and other properties. In some embodiments, a respective eventhandler 290 includes one or more of: data updater 276, object updater277, GUI updater 278, and/or event data 279 received from event sorter270. Event handler 290 utilizes or calls data updater 276, objectupdater 277, or GUI updater 278 to update the application internal state292. Alternatively, one or more of the application views 291 include oneor more respective event handlers 290. Also, in some embodiments, one ormore of data updater 276, object updater 277, and GUI updater 278 areincluded in a respective application view 291.

A respective event recognizer 280 receives event information (e.g.,event data 279) from event sorter 270 and identifies an event from theevent information. Event recognizer 280 includes event receiver 282 andevent comparator 284. In some embodiments, event recognizer 280 alsoincludes at least a subset of: metadata 283, and event deliveryinstructions 288 (which optionally include sub-event deliveryinstructions).

Event receiver 282 receives event information from event sorter 270. Theevent information includes information about a sub-event, for example, atouch or a touch movement. Depending on the sub-event, the eventinformation also includes additional information, such as location ofthe sub-event. When the sub-event concerns motion of a touch, the eventinformation optionally also includes speed and direction of thesub-event. In some embodiments, events include rotation of the devicefrom one orientation to another (e.g., from a portrait orientation to alandscape orientation, or vice versa), and the event informationincludes corresponding information about the current orientation (alsocalled device attitude) of the device.

Event comparator 284 compares the event information to predefined eventor sub-event definitions and, based on the comparison, determines anevent or sub event, or determines or updates the state of an event orsub-event. In some embodiments, event comparator 284 includes eventdefinitions 286. Event definitions 286 contain definitions of events(e.g., predefined sequences of sub-events), for example, event 1(287-1), event 2 (287-2), and others. In some embodiments, sub-events inan event (287) include, for example, touch begin, touch end, touchmovement, touch cancellation, and multiple touching. In one example, thedefinition for event 1 (287-1) is a double tap on a displayed object.The double tap, for example, comprises a first touch (touch begin) onthe displayed object for a predetermined phase, a first liftoff (touchend) for a predetermined phase, a second touch (touch begin) on thedisplayed object for a predetermined phase, and a second liftoff (touchend) for a predetermined phase. In another example, the definition forevent 2 (287-2) is a dragging on a displayed object. The dragging, forexample, comprises a touch (or contact) on the displayed object for apredetermined phase, a movement of the touch across touch-sensitivedisplay 212, and liftoff of the touch (touch end). In some embodiments,the event also includes information for one or more associated eventhandlers 290.

In some embodiments, event definition 287 includes a definition of anevent for a respective user-interface object. In some embodiments, eventcomparator 284 performs a hit test to determine which user-interfaceobject is associated with a sub-event. For example, in an applicationview in which three user-interface objects are displayed ontouch-sensitive display 212, when a touch is detected on touch-sensitivedisplay 212, event comparator 284 performs a hit test to determine whichof the three user-interface objects is associated with the touch(sub-event). If each displayed object is associated with a respectiveevent handler 290, the event comparator uses the result of the hit testto determine which event handler 290 should be activated. For example,event comparator 284 selects an event handler associated with thesub-event and the object triggering the hit test.

In some embodiments, the definition for a respective event (287) alsoincludes delayed actions that delay delivery of the event informationuntil after it has been determined whether the sequence of sub-eventsdoes or does not correspond to the event recognizer's event type.

When a respective event recognizer 280 determines that the series ofsub-events do not match any of the events in event definitions 286, therespective event recognizer 280 enters an event impossible, eventfailed, or event ended state, after which it disregards subsequentsub-events of the touch-based gesture. In this situation, other eventrecognizers, if any, that remain active for the hit view continue totrack and process sub-events of an ongoing touch-based gesture.

In some embodiments, a respective event recognizer 280 includes metadata283 with configurable properties, flags, and/or lists that indicate howthe event delivery system should perform sub-event delivery to activelyinvolved event recognizers. In some embodiments, metadata 283 includesconfigurable properties, flags, and/or lists that indicate how eventrecognizers interact, or are enabled to interact, with one another. Insome embodiments, metadata 283 includes configurable properties, flags,and/or lists that indicate whether sub-events are delivered to varyinglevels in the view or programmatic hierarchy.

In some embodiments, a respective event recognizer 280 activates eventhandler 290 associated with an event when one or more particularsub-events of an event are recognized. In some embodiments, a respectiveevent recognizer 280 delivers event information associated with theevent to event handler 290. Activating an event handler 290 is distinctfrom sending (and deferred sending) sub-events to a respective hit view.In some embodiments, event recognizer 280 throws a flag associated withthe recognized event, and event handler 290 associated with the flagcatches the flag and performs a predefined process.

In some embodiments, event delivery instructions 288 include sub-eventdelivery instructions that deliver event information about a sub-eventwithout activating an event handler. Instead, the sub-event deliveryinstructions deliver event information to event handlers associated withthe series of sub-events or to actively involved views. Event handlersassociated with the series of sub-events or with actively involved viewsreceive the event information and perform a predetermined process.

In some embodiments, data updater 276 creates and updates data used inapplication 236-1. For example, data updater 276 updates the telephonenumber used in contacts module 237, or stores a video file used in videoplayer module. In some embodiments, object updater 277 creates andupdates objects used in application 236-1. For example, object updater277 creates a new user-interface object or updates the position of auser-interface object. GUI updater 278 updates the GUI. For example, GUIupdater 278 prepares display information and sends it to graphics module232 for display on a touch-sensitive display.

In some embodiments, event handler(s) 290 includes or has access to dataupdater 276, object updater 277, and GUI updater 278. In someembodiments, data updater 276, object updater 277, and GUI updater 278are included in a single module of a respective application 236-1 orapplication view 291. In other embodiments, they are included in two ormore software modules.

It shall be understood that the foregoing discussion regarding eventhandling of user touches on touch-sensitive displays also applies toother forms of user inputs to operate multifunction devices 200 withinput devices, not all of which are initiated on touch screens. Forexample, mouse movement and mouse button presses, optionally coordinatedwith single or multiple keyboard presses or holds; contact movementssuch as taps, drags, scrolls, etc. on touchpads; pen stylus inputs;movement of the device; oral instructions; detected eye movements;biometric inputs; and/or any combination thereof are optionally utilizedas inputs corresponding to sub-events which define an event to berecognized.

FIG. 3 illustrates a portable multifunction device 200 having a touchscreen 212 in accordance with some embodiments. The touch screenoptionally displays one or more graphics within user interface (UI) 300.In this embodiment, as well as others described below, a user is enabledto select one or more of the graphics by making a gesture on thegraphics, for example, with one or more fingers 302 (not drawn to scalein the figure) or one or more styluses 303 (not drawn to scale in thefigure). In some embodiments, selection of one or more graphics occurswhen the user breaks contact with the one or more graphics. In someembodiments, the gesture optionally includes one or more taps, one ormore swipes (from left to right, right to left, upward and/or downward),and/or a rolling of a finger (from right to left, left to right, upwardand/or downward) that has made contact with device 200. In someimplementations or circumstances, inadvertent contact with a graphicdoes not select the graphic. For example, a swipe gesture that sweepsover an application icon optionally does not select the correspondingapplication when the gesture corresponding to selection is a tap.

Device 200 optionally also includes one or more physical buttons, suchas “home” or menu button 304. As described previously, menu button 304is, optionally, used to navigate to any application 236 in a set ofapplications that are, optionally, executed on device 200.Alternatively, in some embodiments, the menu button is implemented as asoft key in a GUI displayed on touch screen 212.

In some embodiments, device 200 includes touch screen 212, menu button304, push button 306 for powering the device on/off and locking thedevice, volume adjustment button(s) 308, subscriber identity module(SIM) card slot 310, headset jack 312, and docking/charging externalport 224. Push button 306 is, optionally, used to turn the power on/offon the device by depressing the button and holding the button in thedepressed state for a predefined time interval; to lock the device bydepressing the button and releasing the button before the predefinedtime interval has elapsed; and/or to unlock the device or initiate anunlock process. In an alternative embodiment, device 200 also acceptsverbal input for activation or deactivation of some functions throughmicrophone 213. Device 200 also, optionally, includes one or morecontact intensity sensors 265 for detecting intensity of contacts ontouch screen 212 and/or one or more tactile output generators 267 forgenerating tactile outputs for a user of device 200.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an exemplary multifunction device with adisplay and a touch-sensitive surface in accordance with someembodiments. Device 400 need not be portable. In some embodiments,device 400 is a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a tablet computer,a multimedia player device, a navigation device, an educational device(such as a child's learning toy), a gaming system, or a control device(e.g., a home or industrial controller). Device 400 typically includesone or more processing units (CPUs) 410, one or more network or othercommunications interfaces 460, memory 470, and one or more communicationbuses 420 for interconnecting these components. Communication buses 420optionally include circuitry (sometimes called a chipset) thatinterconnects and controls communications between system components.Device 400 includes input/output (I/O) interface 430 comprising display440, which is typically a touch screen display. I/O interface 430 alsooptionally includes a keyboard and/or mouse (or other pointing device)450 and touchpad 455, tactile output generator 457 for generatingtactile outputs on device 400 (e.g., similar to tactile outputgenerator(s) 267 described above with reference to FIG. 2A), sensors 459(e.g., optical, acceleration, proximity, touch-sensitive, and/or contactintensity sensors similar to contact intensity sensor(s) 265 describedabove with reference to FIG. 2A). Memory 470 includes high-speed randomaccess memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, DDR RAM, or other random access solidstate memory devices; and optionally includes non-volatile memory, suchas one or more magnetic disk storage devices, optical disk storagedevices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid state storagedevices. Memory 470 optionally includes one or more storage devicesremotely located from CPU(s) 410. In some embodiments, memory 470 storesprograms, modules, and data structures analogous to the programs,modules, and data structures stored in memory 202 of portablemultifunction device 200 (FIG. 2A), or a subset thereof. Furthermore,memory 470 optionally stores additional programs, modules, and datastructures not present in memory 202 of portable multifunction device200. For example, memory 470 of device 400 optionally stores drawingmodule 480, presentation module 482, word processing module 484, websitecreation module 486, disk authoring module 488, and/or spreadsheetmodule 490, while memory 202 of portable multifunction device 200 (FIG.2A) optionally does not store these modules.

Each of the above-identified elements in FIG. 4 is, optionally, storedin one or more of the previously mentioned memory devices. Each of theabove-identified modules corresponds to a set of instructions forperforming a function described above. The above-identified modules orprograms (e.g., sets of instructions) need not be implemented asseparate software programs, procedures, or modules, and thus varioussubsets of these modules are, optionally, combined or otherwiserearranged in various embodiments. In some embodiments, memory 470optionally stores a subset of the modules and data structures identifiedabove. Furthermore, memory 470 optionally stores additional modules anddata structures not described above.

Attention is now directed towards embodiments of user interfaces thatare, optionally, implemented on, for example, portable multifunctiondevice 200.

FIG. 5A illustrates an exemplary user interface for a menu ofapplications on portable multifunction device 200 in accordance withsome embodiments. Similar user interfaces are, optionally, implementedon device 400. In some embodiments, user interface 500 includes thefollowing elements, or a subset or superset thereof:

Signal strength indicator(s) 502 for wireless communication(s), such ascellular and Wi-Fi signals;

-   -   Time 504;    -   Bluetooth indicator 505;    -   Battery status indicator 506;    -   Tray 508 with icons for frequently used applications, such as:        -   Icon 516 for telephone module 238, labeled “Phone,” which            optionally includes an indicator 514 of the number of missed            calls or voicemail messages;        -   Icon 518 for e-mail client module 240, labeled “Mail,” which            optionally includes an indicator 510 of the number of unread            e-mails;        -   Icon 520 for browser module 247, labeled “Browser;” and        -   Icon 522 for video and music player module 252, also            referred to as iPod (trademark of Apple Inc.) module 252,            labeled “iPod;” and    -   Icons for other applications, such as:        -   Icon 524 for IM module 241, labeled “Messages;”        -   Icon 526 for calendar module 248, labeled “Calendar;”        -   Icon 528 for image management module 244, labeled “Photos;”        -   Icon 530 for camera module 243, labeled “Camera;”        -   Icon 532 for online video module 255, labeled “Online            Video;”        -   Icon 534 for stocks widget 249-2, labeled “Stocks;”        -   Icon 536 for map module 254, labeled “Maps;”        -   Icon 538 for weather widget 249-1, labeled “Weather;”        -   Icon 540 for alarm clock widget 249-4, labeled “Clock;”        -   Icon 542 for workout support module 242, labeled “Workout            Support;”        -   Icon 544 for notes module 253, labeled “Notes;” and        -   Icon 546 for a settings application or module, labeled            “Settings,” which provides access to settings for device 200            and its various applications 236.

It should be noted that the icon labels illustrated in FIG. 5A aremerely exemplary. For example, icon 522 for video and music playermodule 252 is optionally labeled “Music” or “Music Player.” Other labelsare, optionally, used for various application icons. In someembodiments, a label for a respective application icon includes a nameof an application corresponding to the respective application icon. Insome embodiments, a label for a particular application icon is distinctfrom a name of an application corresponding to the particularapplication icon.

FIG. 5B illustrates an exemplary user interface on a device (e.g.,device 400, FIG. 4) with a touch-sensitive surface 551 (e.g., a tabletor touchpad 455, FIG. 4) that is separate from the display 550 (e.g.,touch screen display 212). Device 400 also, optionally, includes one ormore contact intensity sensors (e.g., one or more of sensors 457) fordetecting intensity of contacts on touch-sensitive surface 551 and/orone or more tactile output generators 459 for generating tactile outputsfor a user of device 400.

Although some of the examples that follow will be given with referenceto inputs on touch screen display 212 (where the touch-sensitive surfaceand the display are combined), in some embodiments, the device detectsinputs on a touch-sensitive surface that is separate from the display,as shown in FIG. 5B. In some embodiments, the touch-sensitive surface(e.g., 551 in FIG. 5B) has a primary axis (e.g., 552 in FIG. 5B) thatcorresponds to a primary axis (e.g., 553 in FIG. 5B) on the display(e.g., 550). In accordance with these embodiments, the device detectscontacts (e.g., 560 and 562 in FIG. 5B) with the touch-sensitive surface551 at locations that correspond to respective locations on the display(e.g., in FIG. 5B, 560 corresponds to 568 and 562 corresponds to 570).In this way, user inputs (e.g., contacts 560 and 562, and movementsthereof) detected by the device on the touch-sensitive surface (e.g.,551 in FIG. 5B) are used by the device to manipulate the user interfaceon the display (e.g., 550 in FIG. 5B) of the multifunction device whenthe touch-sensitive surface is separate from the display. It should beunderstood that similar methods are, optionally, used for other userinterfaces described herein.

Additionally, while the following examples are given primarily withreference to finger inputs (e.g., finger contacts, finger tap gestures,finger swipe gestures), it should be understood that, in someembodiments, one or more of the finger inputs are replaced with inputfrom another input device (e.g., a mouse-based input or stylus input).For example, a swipe gesture is, optionally, replaced with a mouse click(e.g., instead of a contact) followed by movement of the cursor alongthe path of the swipe (e.g., instead of movement of the contact). Asanother example, a tap gesture is, optionally, replaced with a mouseclick while the cursor is located over the location of the tap gesture(e.g., instead of detection of the contact followed by ceasing to detectthe contact). Similarly, when multiple user inputs are simultaneouslydetected, it should be understood that multiple computer mice are,optionally, used simultaneously, or a mouse and finger contacts are,optionally, used simultaneously.

FIG. 6A illustrates exemplary personal electronic device 600. Device 600includes body 602. In some embodiments, device 600 can include some orall of the features described with respect to devices 200 and 400 (e.g.,FIGS. 2A-4). In some embodiments, device 600 has touch-sensitive displayscreen 604, hereafter touch screen 604. Alternatively, or in addition totouch screen 604, device 600 has a display and a touch-sensitivesurface. As with devices 200 and 400, in some embodiments, touch screen604 (or the touch-sensitive surface) optionally includes one or moreintensity sensors for detecting intensity of contacts (e.g., touches)being applied. The one or more intensity sensors of touch screen 604 (orthe touch-sensitive surface) can provide output data that represents theintensity of touches. The user interface of device 600 responds totouches based on their intensity, meaning that touches of differentintensities can invoke different user interface operations on device600.

Exemplary techniques for detecting and processing touch intensity arefound, for example, in related applications: International PatentApplication Serial No. PCT/US2013/040061, titled “Device, Method, andGraphical User Interface for Displaying User Interface ObjectsCorresponding to an Application,” filed May 8, 2013, published as WIPOPublication No. WO/2013/169849, and International Patent ApplicationSerial No. PCT/US2013/069483, titled “Device, Method, and Graphical UserInterface for Transitioning Between Touch Input to Display OutputRelationships,” filed Nov. 11, 2013, published as WIPO Publication No.WO/2014/105276, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference intheir entirety.

In some embodiments, device 600 has one or more input mechanisms 606 and608. Input mechanisms 606 and 608, if included, can be physical.Examples of physical input mechanisms include push buttons and rotatablemechanisms. In some embodiments, device 600 has one or more attachmentmechanisms. Such attachment mechanisms, if included, can permitattachment of device 600 with, for example, hats, eyewear, earrings,necklaces, shirts, jackets, bracelets, watch straps, chains, trousers,belts, shoes, purses, backpacks, and so forth. These attachmentmechanisms permit device 600 to be worn by a user.

FIG. 6B depicts exemplary personal electronic device 600. In someembodiments, device 600 optionally includes some or all of thecomponents described with respect to FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 4. Device 600 hasbus 612 that operatively couples I/O section 614 with one or morecomputer processors 616 and memory 618. I/O section 614 is optionallyconnected to display 604, which can have touch-sensitive component 622and, optionally, intensity sensor 624 (e.g., contact intensity sensor).In addition, I/O section 614 is optionally connected with communicationunit 630 for receiving application and operating system data, usingWi-Fi, Bluetooth, near field communication (NFC), cellular, and/or otherwireless communication techniques. Device 600 optionally includes inputmechanisms 606 and/or 608. Input mechanism 606 is, optionally, arotatable input device or a depressible and rotatable input device, forexample. Input mechanism 608 is, optionally, a button, in some examples.

Input mechanism 608 is, optionally, a microphone, in some examples.Personal electronic device 600 optionally includes various sensors, suchas GPS sensor 632, accelerometer 634, directional sensor 640 (e.g.,compass), gyroscope 636, motion sensor 638, and/or a combinationthereof, all of which are, optionally, operatively connected to I/Osection 614.

Memory 618 of personal electronic device 600 can include one or morenon-transitory computer-readable storage media, for storingcomputer-executable instructions, which, when executed by one or morecomputer processors 616, for example, cause the computer processors toperform the techniques and processes described below. Thecomputer-executable instructions, for example, are also stored and/ortransported within any non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumfor use by or in connection with an instruction execution system,apparatus, or device, such as a computer-based system,processor-containing system, or other system that can fetch theinstructions from the instruction execution system, apparatus, or deviceand execute the instructions. In some examples, the storage medium is anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium any type of storage including but notlimited to, magnetic, optical, and/or semiconductor storages. Examplesof such storage include magnetic disks, optical discs based on CD, DVD,or Blu-ray technologies, as well as persistent solid-state memory suchas flash, solid-state drives, and the like. Personal electronic device600 is not limited to the components and configuration of FIG. 6B, butcan include other or additional components in multiple configurations.

As used here, the term “affordance” refers to a user-interactivegraphical user interface object that is, optionally, displayed on thedisplay screen of devices 200, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1600 and/or 1800(FIGS. 2A, 4, and 6A-B, FIGS. 8A-8AF, FIGS. 10A-10AJ, FIGS. 16A-16S,18A-18D). For example, an image (e.g., icon), a button, and text (e.g.,hyperlink) each optionally constitutes an affordance.

As used herein, the term “focus selector” refers to an input elementthat indicates a current part of a user interface with which a user isinteracting. In some implementations that include a cursor or otherlocation marker, the cursor acts as a “focus selector” so that when aninput (e.g., a press input) is detected on a touch-sensitive surface(e.g., touchpad 455 in FIG. 4 or touch-sensitive surface 551 in FIG. 5B)while the cursor is over a particular user interface element (e.g., abutton, window, slider or other user interface element), the particularuser interface element is adjusted in accordance with the detectedinput. In some implementations that include a touch screen display(e.g., touch-sensitive display system 212 in FIG. 2A or touch screen 212in FIG. 5A) that enables direct interaction with user interface elementson the touch screen display, a detected contact on the touch screen actsas a “focus selector” so that when an input (e.g., a press input by thecontact) is detected on the touch screen display at a location of aparticular user interface element (e.g., a button, window, slider, orother user interface element), the particular user interface element isadjusted in accordance with the detected input. In some implementations,focus is moved from one region of a user interface to another region ofthe user interface without corresponding movement of a cursor ormovement of a contact on a touch screen display (e.g., by using a tabkey or arrow keys to move focus from one button to another button); inthese implementations, the focus selector moves in accordance withmovement of focus between different regions of the user interface.Without regard to the specific form taken by the focus selector, thefocus selector is generally the user interface element (or contact on atouch screen display) that is controlled by the user so as tocommunicate the user's intended interaction with the user interface(e.g., by indicating, to the device, the element of the user interfacewith which the user is intending to interact). For example, the locationof a focus selector (e.g., a cursor, a contact, or a selection box) overa respective button while a press input is detected on thetouch-sensitive surface (e.g., a touchpad or touch screen) will indicatethat the user is intending to activate the respective button (as opposedto other user interface elements shown on a display of the device).

As used in the specification and claims, the term “characteristicintensity” of a contact refers to a characteristic of the contact basedon one or more intensities of the contact. In some embodiments, thecharacteristic intensity is based on multiple intensity samples. Thecharacteristic intensity is, optionally, based on a predefined number ofintensity samples, or a set of intensity samples collected during apredetermined time period (e.g., 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10seconds) relative to a predefined event (e.g., after detecting thecontact, prior to detecting liftoff of the contact, before or afterdetecting a start of movement of the contact, prior to detecting an endof the contact, before or after detecting an increase in intensity ofthe contact, and/or before or after detecting a decrease in intensity ofthe contact). A characteristic intensity of a contact is, optionallybased on one or more of: a maximum value of the intensities of thecontact, a mean value of the intensities of the contact, an averagevalue of the intensities of the contact, a top 10 percentile value ofthe intensities of the contact, a value at the half maximum of theintensities of the contact, a value at the 90 percent maximum of theintensities of the contact, or the like. In some embodiments, theduration of the contact is used in determining the characteristicintensity (e.g., when the characteristic intensity is an average of theintensity of the contact over time). In some embodiments, thecharacteristic intensity is compared to a set of one or more intensitythresholds to determine whether an operation has been performed by auser. For example, the set of one or more intensity thresholdsoptionally includes a first intensity threshold and a second intensitythreshold. In this example, a contact with a characteristic intensitythat does not exceed the first threshold results in a first operation, acontact with a characteristic intensity that exceeds the first intensitythreshold and does not exceed the second intensity threshold results ina second operation, and a contact with a characteristic intensity thatexceeds the second threshold results in a third operation. In someembodiments, a comparison between the characteristic intensity and oneor more thresholds is used to determine whether or not to perform one ormore operations (e.g., whether to perform a respective operation orforgo performing the respective operation) rather than being used todetermine whether to perform a first operation or a second operation.

FIG. 6C illustrates detecting a plurality of contacts 652A-652E ontouch-sensitive display screen 604 with a plurality of intensity sensors624A-624D. FIG. 6C additionally includes intensity diagrams that showthe current intensity measurements of the intensity sensors 624A-624Drelative to units of intensity. In this example, the intensitymeasurements of intensity sensors 624A and 624D are each 9 units ofintensity, and the intensity measurements of intensity sensors 624B and624C are each 7 units of intensity. In some implementations, anaggregate intensity is the sum of the intensity measurements of theplurality of intensity sensors 624A-624D, which in this example is 32intensity units. In some embodiments, each contact is assigned arespective intensity that is a portion of the aggregate intensity. FIG.6D illustrates assigning the aggregate intensity to contacts 652A-652Ebased on their distance from the center of force 654. In this example,each of contacts 652A, 652B, and 652E are assigned an intensity ofcontact of 8 intensity units of the aggregate intensity, and each ofcontacts 652C and 652D are assigned an intensity of contact of 4intensity units of the aggregate intensity. More generally, in someimplementations, each contact j is assigned a respective intensity Ijthat is a portion of the aggregate intensity, A, in accordance with apredefined mathematical function, Ij=A·(Dj/ΣDi), where Dj is thedistance of the respective contact j to the center of force, and ΣDi isthe sum of the distances of all the respective contacts (e.g., i=1 tolast) to the center of force. The operations described with reference toFIGS. 6C-6D can be performed using an electronic device similar oridentical to device 104, 200, 400, or 600. In some embodiments, acharacteristic intensity of a contact is based on one or moreintensities of the contact. In some embodiments, the intensity sensorsare used to determine a single characteristic intensity (e.g., a singlecharacteristic intensity of a single contact). It should be noted thatthe intensity diagrams are not part of a displayed user interface, butare included in FIGS. 6C-6D to aid the reader.

In some embodiments, a portion of a gesture is identified for purposesof determining a characteristic intensity. For example, atouch-sensitive surface optionally receives a continuous swipe contacttransitioning from a start location and reaching an end location, atwhich point the intensity of the contact increases. In this example, thecharacteristic intensity of the contact at the end location is,optionally, based on only a portion of the continuous swipe contact, andnot the entire swipe contact (e.g., only the portion of the swipecontact at the end location). In some embodiments, a smoothing algorithmis, optionally, applied to the intensities of the swipe contact prior todetermining the characteristic intensity of the contact. For example,the smoothing algorithm optionally includes one or more of: anunweighted sliding-average smoothing algorithm, a triangular smoothingalgorithm, a median filter smoothing algorithm, and/or an exponentialsmoothing algorithm. In some circumstances, these smoothing algorithmseliminate narrow spikes or dips in the intensities of the swipe contactfor purposes of determining a characteristic intensity.

The intensity of a contact on the touch-sensitive surface is,optionally, characterized relative to one or more intensity thresholds,such as a contact-detection intensity threshold, a light press intensitythreshold, a deep press intensity threshold, and/or one or more otherintensity thresholds. In some embodiments, the light press intensitythreshold corresponds to an intensity at which the device will performoperations typically associated with clicking a button of a physicalmouse or a trackpad. In some embodiments, the deep press intensitythreshold corresponds to an intensity at which the device will performoperations that are different from operations typically associated withclicking a button of a physical mouse or a trackpad. In someembodiments, when a contact is detected with a characteristic intensitybelow the light press intensity threshold (e.g., and above a nominalcontact-detection intensity threshold below which the contact is nolonger detected), the device will move a focus selector in accordancewith movement of the contact on the touch-sensitive surface withoutperforming an operation associated with the light press intensitythreshold or the deep press intensity threshold. Generally, unlessotherwise stated, these intensity thresholds are consistent betweendifferent sets of user interface figures.

An increase of characteristic intensity of the contact from an intensitybelow the light press intensity threshold to an intensity between thelight press intensity threshold and the deep press intensity thresholdis sometimes referred to as a “light press” input. An increase ofcharacteristic intensity of the contact from an intensity below the deeppress intensity threshold to an intensity above the deep press intensitythreshold is sometimes referred to as a “deep press” input. An increaseof characteristic intensity of the contact from an intensity below thecontact-detection intensity threshold to an intensity between thecontact-detection intensity threshold and the light press intensitythreshold is sometimes referred to as detecting the contact on thetouch-surface. A decrease of characteristic intensity of the contactfrom an intensity above the contact-detection intensity threshold to anintensity below the contact-detection intensity threshold is sometimesreferred to as detecting liftoff of the contact from the touch-surface.In some embodiments, the contact-detection intensity threshold is zero.In some embodiments, the contact-detection intensity threshold isgreater than zero.

In some embodiments described herein, one or more operations areperformed in response to detecting a gesture that includes a respectivepress input or in response to detecting the respective press inputperformed with a respective contact (or a plurality of contacts), wherethe respective press input is detected based at least in part ondetecting an increase in intensity of the contact (or plurality ofcontacts) above a press-input intensity threshold. In some embodiments,the respective operation is performed in response to detecting theincrease in intensity of the respective contact above the press-inputintensity threshold (e.g., a “down stroke” of the respective pressinput). In some embodiments, the press input includes an increase inintensity of the respective contact above the press-input intensitythreshold and a subsequent decrease in intensity of the contact belowthe press-input intensity threshold, and the respective operation isperformed in response to detecting the subsequent decrease in intensityof the respective contact below the press-input threshold (e.g., an “upstroke” of the respective press input).

FIGS. 6E-6H illustrate detection of a gesture that includes a pressinput that corresponds to an increase in intensity of a contact 662 froman intensity below a light press intensity threshold (e.g., “IT_(L)”) inFIG. 6E, to an intensity above a deep press intensity threshold (e.g.,“IT_(D)”) in FIG. 6H. The gesture performed with contact 662 is detectedon touch-sensitive surface 660 while cursor 676 is displayed overapplication icon 672B corresponding to App 2, on a displayed userinterface 670 that includes application icons 672A-672D displayed inpredefined region 674. In some embodiments, the gesture is detected ontouch-sensitive display 604. The intensity sensors detect the intensityof contacts on touch-sensitive surface 660. The device determines thatthe intensity of contact 662 peaked above the deep press intensitythreshold (e.g., “IT_(D)”). Contact 662 is maintained on touch-sensitivesurface 660. In response to the detection of the gesture, and inaccordance with contact 662 having an intensity that goes above the deeppress intensity threshold (e.g., “IT_(D)”) during the gesture,reduced-scale representations 678A-678C (e.g., thumbnails) of recentlyopened documents for App 2 are displayed, as shown in FIGS. 6F-6H. Insome embodiments, the intensity, which is compared to the one or moreintensity thresholds, is the characteristic intensity of a contact. Itshould be noted that the intensity diagram for contact 662 is not partof a displayed user interface, but is included in FIGS. 6E-6H to aid thereader.

In some embodiments, the display of representations 678A-678C includesan animation. For example, representation 678A is initially displayed inproximity of application icon 672B, as shown in FIG. 6F. As theanimation proceeds, representation 678A moves upward and representation678B is displayed in proximity of application icon 672B, as shown inFIG. 6G. Then, representations 678A moves upward, 678B moves upwardtoward representation 678A, and representation 678C is displayed inproximity of application icon 672B, as shown in FIG. 6H. Representations678A-678C form an array above icon 672B. In some embodiments, theanimation progresses in accordance with an intensity of contact 662, asshown in FIGS. 6F-6G, where the representations 678A-678C appear andmove upwards as the intensity of contact 662 increases toward the deeppress intensity threshold (e.g., “IT_(D)”). In some embodiments, theintensity, on which the progress of the animation is based, is thecharacteristic intensity of the contact. The operations described withreference to FIGS. 6E-6H can be performed using an electronic devicesimilar or identical to device 104, 200, 400, or 600.

In some embodiments, the device employs intensity hysteresis to avoidaccidental inputs sometimes termed “jitter,” where the device defines orselects a hysteresis intensity threshold with a predefined relationshipto the press-input intensity threshold (e.g., the hysteresis intensitythreshold is X intensity units lower than the press-input intensitythreshold or the hysteresis intensity threshold is 75%, 90%, or somereasonable proportion of the press-input intensity threshold). Thus, insome embodiments, the press input includes an increase in intensity ofthe respective contact above the press-input intensity threshold and asubsequent decrease in intensity of the contact below the hysteresisintensity threshold that corresponds to the press-input intensitythreshold, and the respective operation is performed in response todetecting the subsequent decrease in intensity of the respective contactbelow the hysteresis intensity threshold (e.g., an “up stroke” of therespective press input). Similarly, in some embodiments, the press inputis detected only when the device detects an increase in intensity of thecontact from an intensity at or below the hysteresis intensity thresholdto an intensity at or above the press-input intensity threshold and,optionally, a subsequent decrease in intensity of the contact to anintensity at or below the hysteresis intensity, and the respectiveoperation is performed in response to detecting the press input (e.g.,the increase in intensity of the contact or the decrease in intensity ofthe contact, depending on the circumstances).

For ease of explanation, the descriptions of operations performed inresponse to a press input associated with a press-input intensitythreshold or in response to a gesture including the press input are,optionally, triggered in response to detecting either: an increase inintensity of a contact above the press-input intensity threshold, anincrease in intensity of a contact from an intensity below thehysteresis intensity threshold to an intensity above the press-inputintensity threshold, a decrease in intensity of the contact below thepress-input intensity threshold, and/or a decrease in intensity of thecontact below the hysteresis intensity threshold corresponding to thepress-input intensity threshold. Additionally, in examples where anoperation is described as being performed in response to detecting adecrease in intensity of a contact below the press-input intensitythreshold, the operation is, optionally, performed in response todetecting a decrease in intensity of the contact below a hysteresisintensity threshold corresponding to, and lower than, the press-inputintensity threshold.

As used herein, an “installed application” refers to a softwareapplication that has been downloaded onto an electronic device (e.g.,devices 100, 200, 400, and/or 600) and is ready to be launched (e.g.,become opened) on the device. In some embodiments, a downloadedapplication becomes an installed application by way of an installationprogram that extracts program portions from a downloaded package andintegrates the extracted portions with the operating system of thecomputer system.

As used herein, the terms “open application” or “executing application”refer to a software application with retained state information (e.g.,as part of device/global internal state 157 and/or application internalstate 192). An open or executing application is, optionally, any one ofthe following types of applications:

-   -   an active application, which is currently displayed on a display        screen of the device that the application is being used on;    -   a background application (or background processes), which is not        currently displayed, but one or more processes for the        application are being processed by one or more processors; and    -   a suspended or hibernated application, which is not running, but        has state information that is stored in memory (volatile and        non-volatile, respectively) and that can be used to resume        execution of the application.

As used herein, the term “closed application” refers to softwareapplications without retained state information (e.g., state informationfor closed applications is not stored in a memory of the device).Accordingly, closing an application includes stopping and/or removingapplication processes for the application and removing state informationfor the application from the memory of the device. Generally, opening asecond application while in a first application does not close the firstapplication. When the second application is displayed and the firstapplication ceases to be displayed, the first application becomes abackground application.

3. Digital Assistant System

FIG. 7A illustrates a block diagram of digital assistant system 700 inaccordance with various examples. In some examples, digital assistantsystem 700 is implemented on a standalone computer system. In someexamples, digital assistant system 700 is distributed across multiplecomputers. In some examples, some of the modules and functions of thedigital assistant are divided into a server portion and a clientportion, where the client portion resides on one or more user devices(e.g., devices 104, 122, 200, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1404, 1600, 1800) andcommunicates with the server portion (e.g., server system 108) throughone or more networks, e.g., as shown in FIG. 1. In some examples,digital assistant system 700 is an implementation of server system 108(and/or DA server 106) shown in FIG. 1. It should be noted that digitalassistant system 700 is only one example of a digital assistant system,and that digital assistant system 700 can have more or fewer componentsthan shown, can combine two or more components, or can have a differentconfiguration or arrangement of the components. The various componentsshown in FIG. 7A are implemented in hardware, software instructions forexecution by one or more processors, firmware, including one or moresignal processing and/or application specific integrated circuits, or acombination thereof.

Digital assistant system 700 includes memory 702, one or more processors704, input/output (I/O) interface 706, and network communicationsinterface 708. These components can communicate with one another overone or more communication buses or signal lines 710.

In some examples, memory 702 includes a non-transitory computer-readablemedium, such as high-speed random access memory and/or a non-volatilecomputer-readable storage medium (e.g., one or more magnetic diskstorage devices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid-statememory devices).

In some examples, I/O interface 706 couples input/output devices 716 ofdigital assistant system 700, such as displays, keyboards, touchscreens, and microphones, to user interface module 722. I/O interface706, in conjunction with user interface module 722, receives user inputs(e.g., voice input, keyboard inputs, touch inputs, etc.) and processesthem accordingly. In some examples, e.g., when the digital assistant isimplemented on a standalone user device, digital assistant system 700includes any of the components and I/O communication interfacesdescribed with respect to devices 200, 400, 600, 1200, and 1404 in FIGS.2A, 4, 6A-H, 12, and 14 respectively. In some examples, digitalassistant system 700 represents the server portion of a digitalassistant implementation, and can interact with the user through aclient-side portion residing on a user device (e.g., devices 104, 200,400, 600, 800, 1000, 1404, 1600, 1800).

In some examples, the network communications interface 708 includeswired communication port(s) 712 and/or wireless transmission andreception circuitry 714. The wired communication port(s) receives andsend communication signals via one or more wired interfaces, e.g.,Ethernet, Universal Serial Bus (USB), FIREWIRE, etc. The wirelesscircuitry 714 receives and sends RF signals and/or optical signalsfrom/to communications networks and other communications devices. Thewireless communications use any of a plurality of communicationsstandards, protocols, and technologies, such as GSM, EDGE, CDMA, TDMA,Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, VoIP, Wi-MAX, or any other suitable communicationprotocol. Network communications interface 708 enables communicationbetween digital assistant system 700 with networks, such as theInternet, an intranet, and/or a wireless network, such as a cellulartelephone network, a wireless local area network (LAN), and/or ametropolitan area network (MAN), and other devices.

In some examples, memory 702, or the computer-readable storage media ofmemory 702, stores programs, modules, instructions, and data structuresincluding all or a subset of: operating system 718, communicationsmodule 720, user interface module 722, one or more applications 724, anddigital assistant module 726. In particular, memory 702, or thecomputer-readable storage media of memory 702, stores instructions forperforming the processes described below. One or more processors 704execute these programs, modules, and instructions, and reads/writesfrom/to the data structures.

Operating system 718 (e.g., Darwin, RTXC, LINUX, UNIX, iOS, OS X,WINDOWS, or an embedded operating system such as VxWorks) includesvarious software components and/or drivers for controlling and managinggeneral system tasks (e.g., memory management, storage device control,power management, etc.) and facilitates communications between varioushardware, firmware, and software components.

Communications module 720 facilitates communications between digitalassistant system 700 with other devices over network communicationsinterface 708. For example, communications module 720 communicates withRF circuitry 208 of electronic devices such as devices 200, 400, and 600shown in FIGS. 2A, 4, 6A-B, respectively. Communications module 720 alsoincludes various components for handling data received by wirelesscircuitry 714 and/or wired communications port 712.

User interface module 722 receives commands and/or inputs from a uservia I/O interface 706 (e.g., from a keyboard, touch screen, pointingdevice, controller, and/or microphone), and generate user interfaceobjects on a display. User interface module 722 also prepares anddelivers outputs (e.g., speech, sound, animation, text, icons,vibrations, haptic feedback, light, etc.) to the user via the I/Ointerface 706 (e.g., through displays, audio channels, speakers,touch-pads, etc.).

Applications 724 include programs and/or modules that are configured tobe executed by one or more processors 704. For example, if the digitalassistant system is implemented on a standalone user device,applications 724 include user applications, such as games, a calendarapplication, a navigation application, or an email application. Ifdigital assistant system 700 is implemented on a server, applications724 include resource management applications, diagnostic applications,or scheduling applications, for example.

Memory 702 also stores digital assistant module 726 (or the serverportion of a digital assistant). In some examples, digital assistantmodule 726 includes the following sub-modules, or a subset or supersetthereof: input/output processing module 728, speech-to-text (STT)processing module 730, natural language processing module 732, dialogueflow processing module 734, task flow processing module 736, serviceprocessing module 738, and speech synthesis processing module 740. Eachof these modules has access to one or more of the following systems ordata and models of the digital assistant module 726, or a subset orsuperset thereof: ontology 760, vocabulary index 744, user data 748,task flow models 754, service models 756, and ASR systems 758.

In some examples, using the processing modules, data, and modelsimplemented in digital assistant module 726, the digital assistant canperform at least some of the following: converting speech input intotext; identifying a user's intent expressed in a natural language inputreceived from the user; actively eliciting and obtaining informationneeded to fully infer the user's intent (e.g., by disambiguating words,games, intentions, etc.); determining the task flow for fulfilling theinferred intent; and executing the task flow to fulfill the inferredintent.

In some examples, as shown in FIG. 7B, I/O processing module 728interacts with the user through I/O devices 716 in FIG. 7A or with auser device (e.g., devices 104, 200, 400, or 600) through networkcommunications interface 708 in FIG. 7A to obtain user input (e.g., aspeech input) and to provide responses (e.g., as speech outputs) to theuser input. I/O processing module 728 optionally obtains contextualinformation associated with the user input from the user device, alongwith or shortly after the receipt of the user input. The contextualinformation includes user-specific data, vocabulary, and/or preferencesrelevant to the user input. In some examples, the contextual informationalso includes software and hardware states of the user device at thetime the user request is received, and/or information related to thesurrounding environment of the user at the time that the user requestwas received. In some examples, I/O processing module 728 also sendsfollow-up questions to, and receive answers from, the user regarding theuser request. When a user request is received by I/O processing module728 and the user request includes speech input, I/O processing module728 forwards the speech input to STT processing module 730 (or speechrecognizer) for speech-to-text conversions.

STT processing module 730 includes one or more ASR systems 758. The oneor more ASR systems 758 can process the speech input that is receivedthrough I/O processing module 728 to produce a recognition result. EachASR system 758 includes a front-end speech pre-processor. The front-endspeech pre-processor extracts representative features from the speechinput. For example, the front-end speech pre-processor performs aFourier transform on the speech input to extract spectral features thatcharacterize the speech input as a sequence of representativemulti-dimensional vectors. Further, each ASR system 758 includes one ormore speech recognition models (e.g., acoustic models and/or languagemodels) and implements one or more speech recognition engines. Examplesof speech recognition models include Hidden Markov Models,Gaussian-Mixture Models, Deep Neural Network Models, n-gram languagemodels, and other statistical models. Examples of speech recognitionengines include the dynamic time warping based engines and weightedfinite-state transducers (WFST) based engines. The one or more speechrecognition models and the one or more speech recognition engines areused to process the extracted representative features of the front-endspeech pre-processor to produce intermediate recognitions results (e.g.,phonemes, phonemic strings, and sub-words), and ultimately, textrecognition results (e.g., words, word strings, or sequence of tokens).In some examples, the speech input is processed at least partially by athird-party service or on the user's device (e.g., device 104, 200, 400,or 600) to produce the recognition result. Once STT processing module730 produces recognition results containing a text string (e.g., words,or sequence of words, or sequence of tokens), the recognition result ispassed to natural language processing module 732 for intent deduction.In some examples, STT processing module 730 produces multiple candidatetext representations of the speech input. Each candidate textrepresentation is a sequence of words or tokens corresponding to thespeech input. In some examples, each candidate text representation isassociated with a speech recognition confidence score. Based on thespeech recognition confidence scores, STT processing module 730 ranksthe candidate text representations and provides the n-best (e.g., nhighest ranked) candidate text representation(s) to natural languageprocessing module 732 for intent deduction, where n is a predeterminedinteger greater than zero. For example, in one example, only the highestranked (n=1) candidate text representation is passed to natural languageprocessing module 732 for intent deduction. In another example, the fivehighest ranked (n=5) candidate text representations are passed tonatural language processing module 732 for intent deduction.

More details on the speech-to-text processing are described in U.S.Utility application Ser. No. 13/236,942 for “Consolidating SpeechRecognition Results,” filed on Sep. 20, 2011, the entire disclosure ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference.

In some examples, STT processing module 730 includes and/or accesses avocabulary of recognizable words via phonetic alphabet conversion module731. Each vocabulary word is associated with one or more candidatepronunciations of the word represented in a speech recognition phoneticalphabet. In particular, the vocabulary of recognizable words includes aword that is associated with a plurality of candidate pronunciations.For example, the vocabulary includes the word “tomato” that isassociated with the candidate pronunciations of /

/ and /

/. Further, vocabulary words are associated with custom candidatepronunciations that are based on previous speech inputs from the user.Such custom candidate pronunciations are stored in STT processing module730 and are associated with a particular user via the user's profile onthe device. In some examples, the candidate pronunciations for words aredetermined based on the spelling of the word and one or more linguisticand/or phonetic rules. In some examples, the candidate pronunciationsare manually generated, e.g., based on known canonical pronunciations.

In some examples, the candidate pronunciations are ranked based on thecommonness of the candidate pronunciation. For example, the candidatepronunciation /

/ is ranked higher than /

/, because the former is a more commonly used pronunciation (e.g., amongall users, for users in a particular geographical region, or for anyother appropriate subset of users). In some examples, candidatepronunciations are ranked based on whether the candidate pronunciationis a custom candidate pronunciation associated with the user. Forexample, custom candidate pronunciations are ranked higher thancanonical candidate pronunciations. This can be useful for recognizingproper nouns having a unique pronunciation that deviates from canonicalpronunciation. In some examples, candidate pronunciations are associatedwith one or more speech characteristics, such as geographic origin,nationality, or ethnicity. For example, the candidate pronunciation /

/ is associated with the United States, whereas the candidatepronunciation /

/ is associated with Great Britain. Further, the rank of the candidatepronunciation is based on one or more characteristics (e.g., geographicorigin, nationality, ethnicity, etc.) of the user stored in the user'sprofile on the device. For example, it can be determined from the user'sprofile that the user is associated with the United States. Based on theuser being associated with the United States, the candidatepronunciation /

/ (associated with the United States) is ranked higher than thecandidate pronunciation /

/ (associated with Great Britain). In some examples, one of the rankedcandidate pronunciations is selected as a predicted pronunciation (e.g.,the most likely pronunciation).

When a speech input is received, STT processing module 730 is used todetermine the phonemes corresponding to the speech input (e.g., using anacoustic model), and then attempt to determine words that match thephonemes (e.g., using a language model). For example, if STT processingmodule 730 first identifies the sequence of phonemes /

/ corresponding to a portion of the speech input, it can then determine,based on vocabulary index 744, that this sequence corresponds to theword “tomato.”

In some examples, STT processing module 730 uses approximate matchingtechniques to determine words in an utterance. Thus, for example, theSTT processing module 730 determines that the sequence of phonemes /

/ corresponds to the word “tomato,” even if that particular sequence ofphonemes is not one of the candidate sequence of phonemes for that word.

Natural language processing module 732 (“natural language processor”) ofthe digital assistant takes the n-best candidate text representation(s)(“word sequence(s)” or “token sequence(s)”) generated by STT processingmodule 730, and attempts to associate each of the candidate textrepresentations with one or more “actionable intents” recognized by thedigital assistant. An “actionable intent” (or “user intent”) representsa task that can be performed by the digital assistant, and can have anassociated task flow implemented in task flow models 754. The associatedtask flow is a series of programmed actions and steps that the digitalassistant takes in order to perform the task. The scope of a digitalassistant's capabilities is dependent on the number and variety of taskflows that have been implemented and stored in task flow models 754, orin other words, on the number and variety of “actionable intents” thatthe digital assistant recognizes. The effectiveness of the digitalassistant, however, also dependents on the assistant's ability to inferthe correct “actionable intent(s)” from the user request expressed innatural language.

In some examples, in addition to the sequence of words or tokensobtained from STT processing module 730, natural language processingmodule 732 also receives contextual information associated with the userrequest, e.g., from I/O processing module 728. The natural languageprocessing module 732 optionally uses the contextual information toclarify, supplement, and/or further define the information contained inthe candidate text representations received from STT processing module730. The contextual information includes, for example, user preferences,hardware, and/or software states of the user device, sensor informationcollected before, during, or shortly after the user request, priorinteractions (e.g., dialogue) between the digital assistant and theuser, and the like. As described herein, contextual information is, insome examples, dynamic, and changes with time, location, content of thedialogue, and other factors.

In some examples, the natural language processing is based on, e.g.,ontology 760. Ontology 760 is a hierarchical structure containing manynodes, each node representing either an “actionable intent” or a“property” relevant to one or more of the “actionable intents” or other“properties.” As noted above, an “actionable intent” represents a taskthat the digital assistant is capable of performing, i.e., it is“actionable” or can be acted on. A “property” represents a parameterassociated with an actionable intent or a sub-aspect of anotherproperty. A linkage between an actionable intent node and a propertynode in ontology 760 defines how a parameter represented by the propertynode pertains to the task represented by the actionable intent node.

In some examples, ontology 760 is made up of actionable intent nodes andproperty nodes. Within ontology 760, each actionable intent node islinked to one or more property nodes either directly or through one ormore intermediate property nodes. Similarly, each property node islinked to one or more actionable intent nodes either directly or throughone or more intermediate property nodes. For example, as shown in FIG.7C, ontology 760 includes a “restaurant reservation” node (i.e., anactionable intent node). Property nodes “restaurant,” “date/time” (forthe reservation), and “party size” are each directly linked to theactionable intent node (i.e., the “restaurant reservation” node).

In addition, property nodes “cuisine,” “price range,” “phone number,”and “location” are sub-nodes of the property node “restaurant,” and areeach linked to the “restaurant reservation” node (i.e., the actionableintent node) through the intermediate property node “restaurant.” Foranother example, as shown in FIG. 7C, ontology 760 also includes a “setreminder” node (i.e., another actionable intent node). Property nodes“date/time” (for setting the reminder) and “subject” (for the reminder)are each linked to the “set reminder” node. Since the property“date/time” is relevant to both the task of making a restaurantreservation and the task of setting a reminder, the property node“date/time” is linked to both the “restaurant reservation” node and the“set reminder” node in ontology 760.

An actionable intent node, along with its linked property nodes, isdescribed as a “domain.” In the present discussion, each domain isassociated with a respective actionable intent, and refers to the groupof nodes (and the relationships there between) associated with theparticular actionable intent. For example, ontology 760 shown in FIG. 7Cincludes an example of restaurant reservation domain 762 and an exampleof reminder domain 764 within ontology 760. The restaurant reservationdomain includes the actionable intent node “restaurant reservation,”property nodes “restaurant,” “date/time,” and “party size,” andsub-property nodes “cuisine,” “price range,” “phone number,” and“location.” Reminder domain 764 includes the actionable intent node “setreminder,” and property nodes “subject” and “date/time.” In someexamples, ontology 760 is made up of many domains. Each domain sharesone or more property nodes with one or more other domains. For example,the “date/time” property node is associated with many different domains(e.g., a scheduling domain, a travel reservation domain, a movie ticketdomain, etc.), in addition to restaurant reservation domain 762 andreminder domain 764.

While FIG. 7C illustrates two example domains within ontology 760, otherdomains include, for example, “find a movie,” “initiate a phone call,”“find directions,” “schedule a meeting,” “send a message,” and “providean answer to a question,” “read a list,” “providing navigationinstructions,” “provide instructions for a task” and so on. A “send amessage” domain is associated with a “send a message” actionable intentnode, and further includes property nodes such as “recipient(s),”“message type,” and “message body.” The property node “recipient” isfurther defined, for example, by the sub-property nodes such as“recipient name” and “message address.”

In some examples, ontology 760 includes all the domains (and henceactionable intents) that the digital assistant is capable ofunderstanding and acting upon. In some examples, ontology 760 ismodified, such as by adding or removing entire domains or nodes, or bymodifying relationships between the nodes within the ontology 760.

In some examples, nodes associated with multiple related actionableintents are clustered under a “super domain” in ontology 760. Forexample, a “travel” super-domain includes a cluster of property nodesand actionable intent nodes related to travel. The actionable intentnodes related to travel includes “airline reservation,” “hotelreservation,” “car rental,” “get directions,” “find points of interest,”and so on. The actionable intent nodes under the same super domain(e.g., the “travel” super domain) have many property nodes in common.For example, the actionable intent nodes for “airline reservation,”“hotel reservation,” “car rental,” “get directions,” and “find points ofinterest” share one or more of the property nodes “start location,”“destination,” “departure date/time,” “arrival date/time,” and “partysize.”

In some examples, each node in ontology 760 is associated with a set ofwords and/or phrases that are relevant to the property or actionableintent represented by the node. The respective set of words and/orphrases associated with each node are the so-called “vocabulary”associated with the node. The respective set of words and/or phrasesassociated with each node are stored in vocabulary index 744 inassociation with the property or actionable intent represented by thenode. For example, returning to FIG. 7B, the vocabulary associated withthe node for the property of “restaurant” includes words such as “food,”“drinks,” “cuisine,” “hungry,” “eat,” “pizza,” “fast food,” “meal,” andso on. For another example, the vocabulary associated with the node forthe actionable intent of “initiate a phone call” includes words andphrases such as “call,” “phone,” “dial,” “ring,” “call this number,”“make a call to,” and so on. The vocabulary index 744 optionallyincludes words and phrases in different languages.

Natural language processing module 732 receives the candidate textrepresentations (e.g., text string(s) or token sequence(s)) from STTprocessing module 730, and for each candidate representation, determineswhat nodes are implicated by the words in the candidate textrepresentation. In some examples, if a word or phrase in the candidatetext representation is found to be associated with one or more nodes inontology 760 (via vocabulary index 744), the word or phrase “triggers”or “activates” those nodes. Based on the quantity and/or relativeimportance of the activated nodes, natural language processing module732 selects one of the actionable intents as the task that the userintended the digital assistant to perform. In some examples, the domainthat has the most “triggered” nodes is selected. In some examples, thedomain having the highest confidence value (e.g., based on the relativeimportance of its various triggered nodes) is selected. In someexamples, the domain is selected based on a combination of the numberand the importance of the triggered nodes. In some examples, additionalfactors are considered in selecting the node as well, such as whetherthe digital assistant has previously correctly interpreted a similarrequest from a user.

User data 748 includes user-specific information, such as user-specificvocabulary, user preferences, user address, user's default and secondarylanguages, user's contact list, and other short-term or long-terminformation for each user. In some examples, natural language processingmodule 732 uses the user-specific information to supplement theinformation contained in the user input to further define the userintent. For example, for a user request “invite my friends to mybirthday party,” natural language processing module 732 is able toaccess user data 748 to determine who the “friends” are and when andwhere the “birthday party” would be held, rather than requiring the userto provide such information explicitly in his/her request.

It should be recognized that in some examples, natural languageprocessing module 732 is implemented using one or more machine learningmechanisms (e.g., neural networks). In particular, the one or moremachine learning mechanisms are configured to receive a candidate textrepresentation and contextual information associated with the candidatetext representation. Based on the candidate text representation and theassociated contextual information, the one or more machine learningmechanisms are configured to determine intent confidence scores over aset of candidate actionable intents. Natural language processing module732 can select one or more candidate actionable intents from the set ofcandidate actionable intents based on the determined intent confidencescores. In some examples, an ontology (e.g., ontology 760) is also usedto select the one or more candidate actionable intents from the set ofcandidate actionable intents.

Other details of searching an ontology based on a token string aredescribed in U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 12/341,743 for “Methodand Apparatus for Searching Using An Active Ontology,” filed Dec. 22,2008, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference.

In some examples, once natural language processing module 732 identifiesan actionable intent (or domain) based on the user request, naturallanguage processing module 732 generates a structured query to representthe identified actionable intent. In some examples, the structured queryincludes parameters for one or more nodes within the domain for theactionable intent, and at least some of the parameters are populatedwith the specific information and requirements specified in the userrequest. For example, the user says “Make me a dinner reservation at asushi place at 7.” In this case, natural language processing module 732is able to correctly identify the actionable intent to be “restaurantreservation” based on the user input. According to the ontology, astructured query for a “restaurant reservation” domain includesparameters such as (Cuisine), (Time), (Date), (Party Size), and thelike. In some examples, based on the speech input and the text derivedfrom the speech input using STT processing module 730, natural languageprocessing module 732 generates a partial structured query for therestaurant reservation domain, where the partial structured queryincludes the parameters (Cuisine=“Sushi”) and (Time=“7 pm”). However, inthis example, the user's utterance contains insufficient information tocomplete the structured query associated with the domain. Therefore,other necessary parameters such as (Party Size) and (Date) are notspecified in the structured query based on the information currentlyavailable. In some examples, natural language processing module 732populates some parameters of the structured query with receivedcontextual information. For example, in some examples, if the userrequested a sushi restaurant “near me,” natural language processingmodule 732 populates a (location) parameter in the structured query withGPS coordinates from the user device.

In some examples, natural language processing module 732 identifiesmultiple candidate actionable intents for each candidate textrepresentation received from STT processing module 730. Further, in someexamples, a respective structured query (partial or complete) isgenerated for each identified candidate actionable intent. Naturallanguage processing module 732 determines an intent confidence score foreach candidate actionable intent and ranks the candidate actionableintents based on the intent confidence scores. In some examples, naturallanguage processing module 732 passes the generated structured query (orqueries), including any completed parameters, to task flow processingmodule 736 (“task flow processor”). In some examples, the structuredquery (or queries) for the m-best (e.g., m highest ranked) candidateactionable intents are provided to task flow processing module 736,where m is a predetermined integer greater than zero. In some examples,the structured query (or queries) for the m-best candidate actionableintents are provided to task flow processing module 736 with thecorresponding candidate text representation(s).

Other details of inferring a user intent based on multiple candidateactionable intents determined from multiple candidate textrepresentations of a speech input are described in U.S. Utilityapplication Ser. No. 14/298,725 for “System and Method for InferringUser Intent From Speech Inputs,” filed Jun. 6, 2014, the entiredisclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

Task flow processing module 736 is configured to receive the structuredquery (or queries) from natural language processing module 732, completethe structured query, if necessary, and perform the actions required to“complete” the user's ultimate request. In some examples, the variousprocedures necessary to complete these tasks are provided in task flowmodels 754. In some examples, task flow models 754 include proceduresfor obtaining additional information from the user and task flows forperforming actions associated with the actionable intent.

As described above, in order to complete a structured query, task flowprocessing module 736 needs to initiate additional dialogue with theuser in order to obtain additional information, and/or disambiguatepotentially ambiguous utterances. When such interactions are necessary,task flow processing module 736 invokes dialogue flow processing module734 to engage in a dialogue with the user. In some examples, dialogueflow processing module 734 determines how (and/or when) to ask the userfor the additional information and receives and processes the userresponses. The questions are provided to and answers are received fromthe users through I/O processing module 728. In some examples, dialogueflow processing module 734 presents dialogue output to the user viaaudio and/or visual output, and receives input from the user via spokenor physical (e.g., clicking) responses. Continuing with the exampleabove, when task flow processing module 736 invokes dialogue flowprocessing module 734 to determine the “party size” and “date”information for the structured query associated with the domain“restaurant reservation,” dialogue flow processing module 734 generatesquestions such as “For how many people?” and “On which day?” to pass tothe user. Once answers are received from the user, dialogue flowprocessing module 734 then populates the structured query with themissing information, or pass the information to task flow processingmodule 736 to complete the missing information from the structuredquery.

Once task flow processing module 736 has completed the structured queryfor an actionable intent, task flow processing module 736 proceeds toperform the ultimate task associated with the actionable intent.Accordingly, task flow processing module 736 executes the steps andinstructions in the task flow model according to the specific parameterscontained in the structured query. For example, the task flow model forthe actionable intent of “restaurant reservation” includes steps andinstructions for contacting a restaurant and actually requesting areservation for a particular party size at a particular time. Forexample, using a structured query such as: {restaurant reservation,restaurant=ABC Café, date=Mar. 12, 2012, time=7 pm, party size=5}, taskflow processing module 736 performs the steps of: (1) logging onto aserver of the ABC Café or a restaurant reservation system such asOPENTABLE®, (2) entering the date, time, and party size information in aform on the website, (3) submitting the form, and (4) making a calendarentry for the reservation in the user's calendar.

In some examples, task flow processing module 736 employs the assistanceof service processing module 738 (“service processing module”) tocomplete a task requested in the user input or to provide aninformational answer requested in the user input. For example, serviceprocessing module 738 acts on behalf of task flow processing module 736to make a phone call, set a calendar entry, invoke a map search, invokeor interact with other user applications installed on the user device,and invoke or interact with third-party services (e.g., a restaurantreservation portal, a social networking website, a banking portal,etc.). In some examples, the protocols and application programminginterfaces (API) required by each service are specified by a respectiveservice model among service models 756. Service processing module 738accesses the appropriate service model for a service and generatesrequests for the service in accordance with the protocols and APIsrequired by the service according to the service model.

For example, if a restaurant has enabled an online reservation service,the restaurant submits a service model specifying the necessaryparameters for making a reservation and the APIs for communicating thevalues of the necessary parameter to the online reservation service.When requested by task flow processing module 736, service processingmodule 738 establishes a network connection with the online reservationservice using the web address stored in the service model, and sends thenecessary parameters of the reservation (e.g., time, date, party size)to the online reservation interface in a format according to the API ofthe online reservation service.

In some examples, natural language processing module 732, dialogue flowprocessing module 734, and task flow processing module 736 are usedcollectively and iteratively to infer and define the user's intent,obtain information to further clarify and refine the user intent, andfinally generate a response (i.e., an output to the user, or thecompletion of a task) to fulfill the user's intent. The generatedresponse is a dialogue response to the speech input that at leastpartially fulfills the user's intent. Further, in some examples, thegenerated response is output as a speech output. In these examples, thegenerated response is sent to speech synthesis processing module 740(e.g., speech synthesizer) where it can be processed to synthesize thedialogue response in speech form. In yet other examples, the generatedresponse is data content relevant to satisfying a user request in thespeech input.

In examples where task flow processing module 736 receives multiplestructured queries from natural language processing module 732, taskflow processing module 736 initially processes the first structuredquery of the received structured queries to attempt to complete thefirst structured query and/or execute one or more tasks or actionsrepresented by the first structured query. In some examples, the firststructured query corresponds to the highest ranked actionable intent. Inother examples, the first structured query is selected from the receivedstructured queries based on a combination of the corresponding speechrecognition confidence scores and the corresponding intent confidencescores. In some examples, if task flow processing module 736 encountersan error during processing of the first structured query (e.g., due toan inability to determine a necessary parameter), the task flowprocessing module 736 can proceed to select and process a secondstructured query of the received structured queries that corresponds toa lower ranked actionable intent. The second structured query isselected, for example, based on the speech recognition confidence scoreof the corresponding candidate text representation, the intentconfidence score of the corresponding candidate actionable intent, amissing necessary parameter in the first structured query, or anycombination thereof.

Speech synthesis processing module 740 is configured to synthesizespeech outputs for presentation to the user. Speech synthesis processingmodule 740 synthesizes speech outputs based on text provided by thedigital assistant. For example, the generated dialogue response is inthe form of a text string. Speech synthesis processing module 740converts the text string to an audible speech output. Speech synthesisprocessing module 740 uses any appropriate speech synthesis technique inorder to generate speech outputs from text, including, but not limited,to concatenative synthesis, unit selection synthesis, diphone synthesis,domain-specific synthesis, formant synthesis, articulatory synthesis,hidden Markov model (HMM) based synthesis, and sinewave synthesis. Insome examples, speech synthesis processing module 740 is configured tosynthesize individual words based on phonemic strings corresponding tothe words. For example, a phonemic string is associated with a word inthe generated dialogue response. The phonemic string is stored inmetadata associated with the word. Speech synthesis processing module740 is configured to directly process the phonemic string in themetadata to synthesize the word in speech form.

In some examples, instead of (or in addition to) using speech synthesisprocessing module 740, speech synthesis is performed on a remote device(e.g., the server system 108), and the synthesized speech is sent to theuser device for output to the user. For example, this can occur in someimplementations where outputs for a digital assistant are generated at aserver system. And because server systems generally have more processingpower or resources than a user device, it is possible to obtain higherquality speech outputs than would be practical with client-sidesynthesis.

Additional details on digital assistants can be found in the U.S.Utility application Ser. No. 12/987,982, entitled “Intelligent AutomatedAssistant,” filed Jan. 10, 2011, and U.S. Utility application Ser. No.13/251,088, entitled “Generating and Processing Task Items ThatRepresent Tasks to Perform,” filed Sep. 30, 2011, the entire disclosuresof which are incorporated herein by reference.

4. Accelerated Task Performance

FIGS. 8A-8AF exemplary user interfaces for providing suggestions on anelectronic device (e.g., device 104, device 122, device 200, device 600,or device 700), in accordance with some embodiments. The user interfacesin these figures are used to illustrate the processes described below,including the processes in FIGS. 9A-9B.

FIG. 8A illustrates an electronic device 800 (e.g., device 104, device122, device 200, device 600, or device 700). In the non-limitingexemplary embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 8A-8AF, electronic device 800is a smartphone. In other embodiments, electronic device 800 can be adifferent type of electronic device, such as a wearable device (e.g., asmartwatch). In some examples, electronic device 800 has a display 801,one or more input devices (e.g., touchscreen of display 801, a button, amicrophone), and a wireless communication radio. In some examples, theelectronic device 800 includes a plurality of cameras. In some examples,the electronic device includes only one camera. In some examples, theelectronic device includes one or more biometric sensors (e.g.,biometric sensor 803) which, optionally, include a camera, such as aninfrared camera, a thermographic camera, or a combination thereof.

In FIG. 8A, the electronic device 800 displays, on display 801, a lockscreen interface, such as the lock screen interface 804, while theelectronic device is in a locked state. The lock screen interface 804includes a suggestion affordance 806 and a notification 808. As shown,the suggestion affordance 806 is associated with an application named“Coffee” and the notification 808 is a message notification associatedwith a messaging application indicating that the electronic device hasreceived a new message from a contact stored on the electronic device(“John Appleseed”). In some examples, an application (e.g., third-partyapplication) may specify the manner in which a suggestion affordance isdisplayed. An application may specify the color of a suggestionaffordance, for instance. In some examples, while in the locked state,the electronic device 800 operates in a secured manner. By way ofexample, while operating in the locked state, the electronic device 800does not display contents of a task suggestion associated with thesuggestion affordance 806 or a message associated with the notification808. In some embodiments, the locked state further corresponds torestrictions on access to other data (including other applications)and/or limitations on permissible inputs.

In some examples, the suggestion affordance 806 is displayed in a firstmanner and the notification 808 is displayed in a second manner. As anexample, suggestion affordance 806 is displayed using a first color andnotification 808 is displayed using a second color different than thefirst color. As another example, the suggestion affordance 806 may bedisplayed using a first shape and the notification 808 may be displayedusing a second shape different than the first shape.

In some examples, while operating in the locked state, the electronicdevice authenticates a user of the electronic device. A user may beauthenticated, for instance, biometrically using biometric sensor 803(e.g., facial recognition, fingerprint recognition) or in response toentry of a valid passcode (e.g., password, numerical passcode). In someexamples, in response to authenticating the user, the electronic device800 transitions to an unlocked state and displays lock screen interface810. In some examples, while displaying the lock screen interface 810,the electronic device 800 displays an animation indicating that theelectronic device 800 is transitioning from the locked state to theunlocked state (e.g., lock indicator 805 transitions from locked tounlocked state).

In some examples, while operating in the unlocked state, the electronicdevice 800 the electronic device 800 operates in an unsecured manner(e.g., secured data is accessible to the authenticated user). By way ofexample, as illustrated in FIG. 8B, the electronic device 800 displayscontents of the task suggestion associated with the suggestionaffordance 806 and the message associated with the notification 808. Asillustrated, contents of the task suggestion associated with suggestionaffordance include task indicator 812 indicating a task associated withthe task suggestion and one or more parameters associated with the task.

While displaying the lock screen interface 810, the electronic device800 detects selection (e.g., activation) of suggestion affordance 806.For example, as shown in FIG. 8C, the selection is a tap gesture 816 onthe suggestion affordance 806. As will be described in more detailbelow, in response to detecting tap gesture 816, the electronic device800 selectively performs the task associated with the suggestionaffordance 806. If the task is a task of a first type (e.g., abackground task), the electronic device 800 performs the task withoutrequiring further user input. The electronic device 800 further maycease display of the suggestion affordance 806, as illustrated in FIG.8H.

With reference to FIG. 8D, if the task is a task of a second typedifferent than the first type, the electronic device 800 displays aconfirmation interface, such as confirmation interface 820. Confirmationinterface 820 includes task content 822, confirmation affordance 824,and cancel affordance 826. In some examples, task content 822 includesone or more of application indicator 828, application icon 830, and taskindicator 832. In some examples, application indicator 828 indicates theapplication associated with the task. Application indicator 828 includesa name of the application (e.g., “Coffee”) and/or an icon associatedwith the application. Application icon 830 includes an icon (or otherimage) associated with the task and/or the application associated withthe task. Task indicator 832 indicates the task corresponding to thesuggestion affordance (“Order”) and/or one or more parameters associatedwith the task (small, latte, Homestead Rd. Cupertino Calif.).

In some examples, in response to selection of the cancel affordance 826,the electronic device 800 ceases display of the confirmation interface820. In some examples, the application indicator 828 is implemented asan application affordance, and in response to selection of theapplication indicator 828, the electronic device 800 opens theapplication associated with the task (e.g., “Coffee”). In some examples,the application icon 830 is implemented as an application affordance,and in response to selection of the application icon 830, the electronicdevice 800 opens the application associated with the task.

In some examples, opening an application includes preloading theapplication with one or more parameters. For instance, suggestionaffordance 806 is associated with a task for placing an order using acoffee application, and parameters associated with the task include asize of the coffee (e.g., small), a type of the coffee (e.g., latte),and a location for pickup of the order (Homestead Rd. location inCupertino, Calif.). Accordingly, in some examples, opening theapplication in this manner includes inserting one or more parameters ofthe task on behalf of the user. By way of example, opening theapplication by way of selecting application indicator 828 or applicationicon 830 may cause the electronic device to open coffee application andpresent an interface (e.g., shopping cart interface) by which the usercan confirm an order of a small latte at the Homestead Rd. location. Insome examples, parameters are preloaded such that the electronic deviceperforms the task in response to an input confirming intent to performthe task. In this manner, the number of inputs required for a user toperform a particular task using an application may be reduced.

In some examples, an application (e.g., third-party application) mayspecify the manner in which a confirmation affordance is displayed. Anapplication may specify the color of a confirmation affordance, forinstance. In some examples, while displaying the confirmation interface820, the electronic device 800 detects selection of the confirmationaffordance 824. For example, as shown in FIG. 8E, the selection is a tapgesture 836 on the confirmation affordance 824. In response to detectingtap gesture 836, the electronic device 800 performs the task. In someexamples, while performing the task, the electronic device 800,optionally, displays a progress indicator 840, indicating that the taskis being performed. In some examples, display of the progress indicator840 replaces display of the confirmation affordance 824.

Once task has been performed, the electronic device 800 provides anoutput indicating whether the task was performed successfully. In theexample of FIG. 8G, the task is performed successfully, and as a result,the electronic device 800 displays a success indicator 842, indicatingthat the task was successfully performed. In some examples, display ofthe success indicator 842 replaces display of the progress indicator840. In some examples, a predetermined amount of time after the task hasbeen completed, the electronic device replaces display of theconfirmation interface 820 with lock screen interface 810. Asillustrated, because the task associated with suggestion affordance 806was performed, suggestion affordance 806 is not included in lock screeninterface 810 in FIG. 8H.

In the example of FIG. 8I, the task was not performed successfully, andas a result, the electronic device 800 displays a failure interface 844.The failure interface 844 includes a retry affordance 846, a cancelaffordance 848, and application affordance 850. The failure interfacefurther includes content 852. In some examples, in response to selectionof the retry affordance 846, the electronic device 800 performs the taskagain. In some examples, in response to selection of the cancelaffordance, the electronic device 800 ceases display of the failureinterface 844. In some examples, in response to selection of theapplication affordance 850, the electronic device 800 opens anapplication associated with the task. Content 852 may includeinformation directed to the task, such as one or more parameters used toperform the task. In some examples, content 852 further specifieswhether the task was performed successfully. Content 852 may, forexample, indicate that the electronic device failed to perform the tasksuccessfully (e.g., “There was a problem. Please try again.”).

In FIG. 8J, the selection of suggestion affordance 806 is a swipegesture 854 on the suggestion affordance 806. In response to detectingthe swipe gesture 854, the electronic device 800 displaces (e.g.,slides) the suggestion affordance 806 in a leftward direction to display(e.g., reveal) view affordance 856 and clear affordance 858 as shown inFIG. 8K. In some examples, in response to selection of the viewaffordance 856, the electronic device 800 displays a confirmationinterface, such as the confirmation interface 820 (FIG. 8D). In someexamples, in response to selection of the clear affordance 858, theelectronic device 800 ceases to display the suggestion affordance 806.

In FIG. 8L, the selection of suggestion affordance 806 is a swipegesture 860 on the suggestion affordance 806. In response to detectingthe swipe gesture 860, the electronic device 800 displaces (e.g.,slides) the suggestion affordance 806 in a rightward direction todisplay (e.g., reveal) open affordance 862 as shown in FIG. 8M. In someexamples, in response to selection of open affordance 862, theelectronic device opens an application associated with the task of thesuggestion affordance (e.g., “Coffee”).

In FIG. 8N, the electronic device 800 displays, on display 801, a searchscreen interface, such as the search screen interface 866. The searchscreen interface 866 includes suggested applications 868 and suggestionaffordances 870, 872, 874. As shown, the suggestion affordance 870 isassociated with a messaging application, suggestion affordance 872 isassociated with a telephone application, and suggestion affordance 874is associated with a media playback application.

In some examples, suggestion affordances optionally include a glyph(e.g., glyph 876, 878, 880) indicating a category of a task associatedwith the suggestion affordance. Categories specified in this manner mayinclude “monetary,” “messages,” “phone,” “video,” and “media” in someexamples. Suggestion affordances (e.g., suggestion affordance 806 ofFIG. 8A) may be displayed without a glyph if, for instance, the task ofthe suggestion affordance does not correspond to a task category. In theexample shown in FIG. 8N, suggestion affordance 870 is associated with atask for sending a text message and accordingly includes a messagingglyph 876 indicating that the task is associated with text messaging. Asanother example, suggestion affordance 872 is associated with a task forinitiating a phone call and accordingly includes a telephone glyph 878indicating that the task is associated with telephone functionality. Asyet another example, suggestion affordance 874 is associated with a taskfor playback of a video and accordingly includes a playback glyph 880indicating that the task is associated with media playback. It will beappreciated that any number of types of glyphs may be used,corresponding to any number of respective task categories.

FIGS. 8N-P illustrate various manners in which suggested applicationsand suggestion affordances may be displayed in a search screeninterface, such as the search screen interface. As illustrated in FIG.8N, in at least one example, suggested applications and suggestionaffordances may be displayed in respective portions of a search screeninterface (e.g., portions 882, 884). As illustrated in FIG. 8O, in atleast one example, suggested applications and suggestion affordances maybe displayed in a same portion of a search screen interface (e.g.,portion 886). As illustrated in FIG. 8P, in at least one example,suggested applications and each suggestion affordance may be displayedin a respective portion of a search screen interface (e.g., portion 888,890, 892, 894).

In some examples, while displaying the search screen interface 866, theelectronic device 800 detects selection of the suggestion affordance,such as the suggestion affordance 870. In some examples, because thetask associated with suggestion affordance 870 is a task of apredetermined type (e.g., background task), the electronic deviceperforms (e.g., automatically performs) the task associated with thesuggestion affordance 870 in response to selection of the affordance 870with an input of a first type (e.g., tap gesture). Additionally oralternatively, in response to selection of the affordance 870 with aninput of a second type different than the first type, the electronicdevice 800 displays a confirmation interface requesting confirmation ofthe task from a user.

For example, as shown in FIG. 8Q, the selection is a touch gesture 896on the confirmation affordance 824. In some examples, touch gesture 896is a touch input satisfying a threshold intensity and/or thresholdduration such that the touch gesture 896 may be differentiated from atap gesture. As shown in FIG. 8R, in response to detecting touch gesture896, the electronic device 800 displays confirmation interface 898.Confirmation interface 898 includes confirmation affordance 802A, cancelaffordance 804A, application indicator 806A, and content 808A. In someexamples, selection of the cancel affordance 804A causes the electronicdevice 800 to cease display of the confirmation interface 898 and/orforgo performing the task associated with suggestion affordance 870. Insome examples, application indicator 806A indicates the applicationassociated with the task. Application indicator 806A may include a nameof the application (e.g., “Messages”) and/or an icon associated with theapplication. Content 808A may include information directed to the task,such as one or more parameters used to perform the task. For instance,content 808A may specify that a recipient of a text message is a contact“Mom” and the text of the text message is “Good Morning”. In someexamples, content 808A may be implemented as an affordance.

While displaying the confirmation interface 898, the electronic device800 detects selection of the confirmation affordance 802A. For example,as shown in FIG. 8S, the selection is a tap gesture 810A on theconfirmation affordance 824. In response to detecting the tap gesture810A, the electronic device 800 performs a task associated withsuggestion affordance 870. As shown in FIG. 8T, in some examples, whileperforming the task, the electronic device 800, optionally, displays aprogress indicator 812A, indicating that the task is being performed. Insome examples, display of the progress indicator 812A replaces displayof the confirmation affordance 802A and cancel affordance 804A.

Once task has been performed, the electronic device 800 provides anoutput indicating whether the task was performed successfully. In theexample of FIG. 8U, the task is performed successfully, and as a result,the electronic device 800 displays a success indicator 814A, indicatingthat the task was successfully performed (e.g., text message to “Mom”was successfully sent). In some examples, display of the successindicator 814A replaces display of the progress indicator 812A. In someexamples, a predetermined amount of time after the task has beencompleted, the electronic device replaces display of the confirmationinterface 898 with search screen interface 866. As illustrated in FIG.8V, because the task associated with suggestion affordance 870 wasperformed, suggestion affordance 870 is not included in search screeninterface 866.

In some examples, while displaying the confirmation interface 898, theelectronic device 800 detects selection of content 808A. For example, asshown in FIG. 8W, the selection is a tap gesture 816A on the content808A. In response to detecting the tap gesture 816A, the electronicdevice 800 opens the application associated with the suggestionaffordance 870 as shown in FIG. 8X.

In some examples, opening an application in this manner includespreloading the application with one or more parameters associated withthe task. In this manner, a user may perform a task within anapplication using a reduced number of inputs. By way of example, inresponse to selection of the content 808A associated with the suggestionaffordance 870, the electronic device 800 opens a messaging applicationand preloads the messaging application with parameters specified by thesuggestion affordance 870. In particular, the messaging application maybe directed to a messaging interface 817A for providing messages to therecipient “Mom”, and an input string “Good Morning” may be inserted intoa message composition field 818A of the messaging application.

While displaying the messaging interface 817A, the electronic device 800detects selection of a send affordance 820A. For example, as shown inFIG. 8Y, the selection is a tap gesture 822A on the send affordance820A. In FIG. 8Z, in response to detecting the tap gesture 822A, theelectronic device 800 sends the preloaded message (e.g., “Good Morning”)to the recipient “Mom”. By preloading parameters in this manner, a usermay open an application using a suggestion affordance and perform a taskwith fewer inputs than would otherwise be possible. In theaforementioned example, for instance, the user sent a text messagewithout having to select a recipient or input a message for therecipient.

In some examples, an application may be opened without preloadedparameters. In FIG. 8AA, the electronic device 800 displays, on display801, a search screen interface, such as the search screen interface826A. The search screen interface 826A includes suggested applications282A and suggestion affordances 830A, 832A. As shown, the suggestionaffordance 830A is associated with a notes application and suggestionaffordance 832A is associated with a video telephony application.Further, suggestion affordance 830A is associated with a task foropening the notes application. In some examples, tasks corresponding tothe notes application may not correspond to a task category, andaccordingly the suggestion affordance 830A does not include a glyph.Suggestion affordance 832A is associated with a task for initiating avideo call (e.g., Skype call) and accordingly includes a video glyph836A indicating that the task is associated with video callfunctionality.

While displaying the search screen interface 826A, the electronic device800 detects selection of the suggestion affordance 834A. For example, asshown in FIG. 8AA, the selection is a tap gesture 834A on the suggestionaffordance 834A. In FIG. 8AB, in response to detecting the tap gesture834A, the electronic device 800 opens the notes application associatedwith the suggestion affordance 830A.

In some examples, the manner in which an electronic device displaysinterfaces, as described herein, depends on a type of the electronicdevice. In some examples, for instance, electronic device 800 may beimplemented as a device with a relatively small display such thatinterfaces, such as lock screen interface 804 or search screen interface866, may not be practical for display. Accordingly, in some examples,electronic device 800 may display alternative interfaces to thosepreviously described.

With reference to FIG. 8AC, for instance, the electronic device 800displays, on display 801, home screen interface 850A. Home screeninterface 850A includes a suggestion affordance 852A and a notification854A. As shown, the suggestion affordance 852A is associated with anapplication named “Coffee” and the notification 854A is a calendarnotification associated with a calendar application indicating that theuser has an upcoming event (“Meeting”).

It will be appreciated that while home screen interface 850A is shown asincluding suggestion affordance 852A, in some examples, home screeninterface 850A includes multiple suggestion affordances 852A. Forinstance, in response to a user input, such as a swipe gesture (e.g.,upward swipe gesture, downward swipe gesture), the electronic device candisplay (e.g., reveal) one or more additional suggestion affordances.

While displaying home screen interface 850A, the electronic device 800detects selection of suggestion affordance 852A. For example, as shownin FIG. 8AD, the selection is a tap gesture 858A on the suggestionaffordance 852A. As will be described in more detail below, in responseto detecting tap gesture 858A, the electronic device 800 displays aconfirmation interface, such as confirmation interface 820. Confirmationinterface 820 includes application indicator 861A, task indicator 862A,confirmation affordance 864A, and cancel affordance 866A. In someexamples, application indicator 861A indicates the applicationassociated with the task. Application indicator 861A may include a nameof the application (e.g., “Coffee”) and/or an icon associated with theapplication. Task indicator 862A indicates a task associated with theapplication and one or more parameters associated with the task (small,latte, oat milk).

In some examples, in response to selection of the cancel affordance866A, the electronic device 800 ceases display of the confirmationinterface 860A. In some examples, while displaying the confirmationinterface 860A, the electronic device 800 detects selection of theconfirmation affordance 864A. For example, as shown in FIG. 8AE, theselection is a tap gesture 868A on the confirmation affordance 864A. Inresponse to detecting tap gesture 868A, the electronic device 800selectively performs the task. If the task is a task of a first type,the electronic device 800 performs the task without further user input,and optionally, replaces display of the confirmation interface 860A withhome screen interface 850A as shown in FIG. 8AF. Because the taskassociated with suggestion affordance 852A was performed, suggestioninterface 852A is not displayed in home screen interface 850A. If thetask is a task of a second type, the electronic device 800 may requestuser confirmation of the task prior to performing the task, asdescribed.

FIGS. 9A-9B is a flow diagram illustrating method 900 for providingsuggestions in accordance with some embodiments. Method 900 is performedat a device (e.g., device 104, device 122, device 200, device 600,device 700, device 800) with a display, one or more input devices (e.g.,a touchscreen, a mic, a camera), and a wireless communication radio(e.g., a Bluetooth connection, WiFi connection, a mobile broadbandconnection such as a 4G LTE connection). In some embodiments, thedisplay is a touch-sensitive display. In some embodiments, the displayis not a touch sensitive display. In some embodiments, the electronicdevice includes a plurality of cameras. In some embodiments, theelectronic device includes only one camera. In some examples, the deviceincludes one or more biometric sensors which, optionally, include acamera, such as an infrared camera, a thermographic camera, or acombination thereof. Some operations in method 900 are, optionally,combined, the orders of some operations are, optionally, changed, andsome operations are, optionally, omitted.

As described below, displaying a user interface including a suggestionaffordance and selectively requiring confirmation to perform a task inresponse to selection of the suggestion affordance provides a user withan easily recognizable and intuitive approach for performing tasks onthe electronic device, thereby reducing the number of user inputsotherwise needed to perform such tasks. Thus, displaying user interfacesin this manner enhances the operability of the device and makes theuser-device interface more efficient (e.g., by helping the user toprovide proper inputs and reducing user mistakes whenoperating/interacting with the device), which, additionally, reducespower usage and improves battery life of the device by enabling the userto use the device more quickly and efficiently.

In some examples, the electronic device determines a first set ofcandidate tasks (902) and identifies a task from the first set ofcandidate tasks (904). In some examples, the task is identified based ona determination that a context of the electronic device satisfies tasksuggestion criteria.

In some examples, prior to displaying, on the display, a user interface,the electronic device determines, based on a first context of theelectronic device (e.g., context data describing previous use of theelectronic device), whether context criteria (e.g., task suggestioncriteria) has been satisfied. In some examples, the electronic devicedetermines whether task suggestions satisfy a confidence threshold fordisplay of the suggestions. In some examples, in accordance with adetermination that the context criteria have been satisfied (e.g., oneor more task suggestions meet the confidence threshold), the electronicdevice determines a first set of candidate tasks. In some examples, theelectronic device determines, based on a second context of theelectronic device, whether heuristic criteria have been satisfied. Insome examples, the second context of the electronic device is indicativeof previous use of the device and/or context data associated with theuser (e.g., contacts, calendar, location). In some examples, determiningwhether the heuristic criteria have been met includes determiningwhether a set of conditions for a heuristic task suggestion have beenmet such that the heuristic task suggestion is provided in lieu of asuggested task. In some examples, the electronic device determineswhether the context criteria have been satisfied and then determineswhether the heuristic criteria have been satisfied. In some examples,the electronic device determines whether the heuristic criteria havebeen satisfied and then determines whether the context criteria havebeen satisfied. In some examples, the electronic device concurrentlydetermines whether the context criteria and the heuristic criteria havebeen satisfied. In some examples, in accordance with a determinationthat the heuristic criteria have been satisfied, the electronic devicedetermines a second set of candidate tasks different from the first setof candidate tasks and identifies a task from the second set ofcandidate tasks. In some examples, in accordance with a determinationthat the heuristic criteria have not been satisfied and the contextcriteria have been satisfied, the electronic device identifies a taskfrom the first set of candidate tasks. In some examples, in accordancewith a determination that the heuristic criteria have not been satisfiedand the context criteria have not been satisfied, the electronic deviceforgoes determining the first set of candidate tasks and forgoesdetermining the second set of candidate tasks.

Providing heuristic task suggestions in this manner allows theelectronic device to provide task suggestions based on user-specificcontext data in addition to context data of the electronic device, forinstance, according to respective sets of conditions as set forth below.This allows the electronic device to provide a user with an salient tasksuggestions for performing tasks on the electronic device, therebyreducing the number of user inputs otherwise needed to perform suchtasks. Thus, providing heuristic task suggestions in this mannerenhances the operability of the device and makes use of the electronicdevice more efficient (e.g., by helping the user to provide properinputs and reducing user mistakes when operating/interacting with thedevice), which, additionally, reduces power usage and improves batterylife of the device by enabling the user to use the device more quicklyand efficiently.

In some examples, the electronic device determines whether the task is atask of a first type (906). In some examples, determining whether thetask is a task of a first type includes determining whether the task isa background task (e.g., a task that may be performed without userconfirmation and/or additional user input).

In some examples, determining whether the task is a task of a first typeincludes determining whether one or more parameters associated with thetask are valid. In some examples, parameters of a task are valid wheneach parameter required for a task is assigned a value within anallowable range or set of values for the parameter and, optionally, eachoptional parameter for a task has a value within an allowable range orset for the parameter, or is not assigned a value.

In some examples, the electronic device (104, 200, 600, 700, 800)displays, on a display of the electronic device, a user interface (804,810, 866, 826A, 850A) including a suggestion affordance (806, 870, 872,874, 834A, 854A) associated with a task (908). In some examples, theuser interface is a lock screen interface (804, 810). In some examples,the user interface is a search screen interface (866, 826A). In someexamples, the user interface is a digital assistant interface for dialogbetween a user and a digital assistant. In some examples, the suggestionaffordance is an affordance that corresponds to a task suggestionprovided by the electronic device, and in some instances, a digitalassistant of the electronic device. In some examples, the suggestion istask-specific and/or parameter-specific. In some examples, tasksuggestions are provided based on context of the electronic device(e.g., location, WiFi connectivity, WiFi network identifier (e.g.,SSID), usage history, time/day, headphones connectivity, etc.). In someexamples, task suggestions are visually distinguishable from othernotifications displayed by the electronic device in the user interface.

Providing task suggestions based on context of the electronic deviceallows the electronic device to provide salient task suggestionsaccording to a user's previous usage of the electronic device and/or acurrent state of the electronic device. As a result, the number ofinputs and amount of time needed to perform tasks on the electronicdevice are reduced, accelerating user interaction with the electronicdevice. This in turn reduces power usage and improves battery life ofthe device.

In some examples, displaying, on the display, a user interface includinga suggestion affordance associated with a task includes: in accordancewith the task being a task of the first type, displaying the suggestionaffordance with a glyph, and in accordance with the task being a task ofthe second type, displaying the suggestion affordance without a glyph.In some examples, the glyph is indicative of a type of the task (e.g.,background vs. non-background, whether task requires user confirmation).In some examples, the glyph is an arrow indicating the task is requiringuser confirmation. In some examples, the glyph is a dollar sign (orother currency symbol) indicating that the task is a transaction. Insome examples, the glyph is circumscribed by a circle.

In some examples, displaying, on the display, a user interface includinga suggestion affordance associated with a task includes, in accordancewith a determination that the task corresponds to a first set of tasks,displaying the suggestion affordance with a glyph of a first type (910).In some examples, the set of tasks is a category of tasks. Categories oftasks include message tasks, telephony tasks, video telephony tasks, andmedia tasks in some examples. In some examples, each set of taskscorresponds to one or more respective first party applications. In someexamples, each set of tasks additionally includes tasks corresponding toone or more third party applications. In some examples, if the task is atask corresponding to a particular category of tasks, a suggestionaffordance corresponding to the task includes a glyph identifying thecategory (876, 878, 880, 836A). In some examples, displaying, on thedisplay, a user interface including a suggestion affordance associatedwith a task further includes, in accordance with a determination thatthe task corresponds to a second set of tasks different than the firstset of tasks, displaying the suggestion affordance with a glyph of asecond type different than the first type (912). In some examples,displaying, on the display, a user interface including a suggestionaffordance associated with a task further includes, in accordance adetermination that the task does not correspond to the first set oftasks and does not correspond to the second set of tasks, displaying thesuggestion affordance (830A) without a glyph. In some examples, if thetask does not correspond to one or more predetermined categories oftasks, the suggestion affordance corresponding to the task is displayedwithout a glyph (914).

In some examples, the user interface (804, 810) includes a notification(808). The notification may be a notification for an event, such asreceipt of a text message. In some examples, the suggestion affordance(806) is displayed in a first manner and the notification (808) isdisplayed in a second manner different than the first manner. Forinstance, in some examples, the suggestion affordance and notificationcorrespond to different colors, color schemes, and/or patterns. In someexamples, the suggestion affordance and notification have differentshapes and/or sizes.

Displaying notifications and suggestion affordances in differentmanners, as described herein, allows a user to easily distinguishnotifications and suggestion affordances on a display of the electronicdevice, thereby reducing the amount of time needed to perform tasks.Reducing time in this manner enhances the operability of the device andmakes the user-device interface more efficient (e.g., by helping theuser to provide proper inputs and reducing user mistakes whenoperating/interacting with the device), which, additionally, reducespower usage and improves battery life of the device by enabling the userto use the device more quickly and efficiently.

In some examples, displaying a user interface includes, in accordancewith a determination that the electronic device is in a locked state,displaying the suggestion affordance in a first visual state. In someexamples, if the device is locked, the electronic device displays areduced amount of information corresponding to the suggestionaffordance. In some examples, displaying a user interface furtherincludes, in accordance with a determination that the electronic deviceis not in a locked state, displaying the suggestion affordance in asecond visual state different than the first visual state. In someexamples, if the device is unlocked, the electronic device displayscontent corresponding to the suggestion affordance. Content displayed inthis manner includes but is not limited to a name and/or icon of anapplication associated with the suggestion affordance, one or moreparameters associated with task of the suggestion affordance, and,optionally a glyph indicating a category of the task of the suggestionaffordance.

In some examples, the electronic device detects, via one or more inputdevices, a first user input (816, 834A, 858A) corresponding to aselection of the suggestion affordance (916). In some examples, thesuggestion affordance is selected using a touch input, a gesture, or acombination thereof. In some examples, the suggestion affordance isselected using a voice input. In some examples, the touch input is aninput of a first type, such as a press of a relatively short duration orlow intensity.

In some examples, in response to detecting the first user input (918),the electronic device, in accordance with a determination that the taskis a task of a first type, performs the task (920). In some examples,performing the task includes causing the task to be performed by anotherelectronic device. In some examples, the electronic device is a deviceof a first type (e.g., smart watch) and causes the task to be performedon a device of a second type (e.g., mobile phone).

In some examples, further in response to detecting the first user input(918), the electronic device, in accordance with a determination thatthe task is a task of a second type different than the first type,displays a confirmation interface (820, 898, 860A) including aconfirmation affordance (922). In some examples, a task of the secondtype is a task that requires user confirmation and/or additionalinformation from the user prior to performance of the task, such as atask corresponding to a transaction. In some examples, a task of thesecond type is a task to be performed by a device of a particular type,such as a smart watch. In some examples, the confirmation interface isdisplayed concurrently with the user interface. The confirmationinterface may, for instance, be overlaid on the user interface. In someexamples, the confirmation interface is displayed over a first portionof the user interface and a second portion of the user interface isvisually obscured (e.g., darkened, blurred).

Selectively requiring confirmation to perform a task in response toselection of a suggestion affordance allows the electronic device toquickly perform tasks of a first type and confirm user intent prior toperforming tasks of a second type. As a result, the user is providedwith an intuitive and reliable approach for quickly and reliablyperforming tasks on the electronic device, thereby reducing the numberof user inputs otherwise needed to perform such tasks and acceleratingtask performance. Such benefits in turn reduce the amount of time neededto perform tasks and make the usage of the electronic device moreefficient, which, additionally, reduces power usage and improves batterylife of the device by enabling the user to use the device more quicklyand efficiently.

In some examples, while displaying the confirmation interface (926), theelectronic device detects a second user input (836, 810A, 868A)corresponding to a selection of the confirmation affordance (824, 802A,864A) (928). In some examples, the confirmation affordance is selectedusing a touch input, a gesture, or a combination thereof. In someexamples, the confirmation affordance is selected using a voice input.In some examples, in response to detecting the second user input, theelectronic device performs the task (930). In some examples, whileperforming the task, the electronic device displays a first progressindicator (840, 812A) to indicate that the electronic device isperforming the task. In some examples, if the electronic devicesuccessfully performs the task, the electronic device displays a secondprogress indicator (842, 814A) to indicate that the task wassuccessfully performed. In some examples, following performance of atask and/or display of the second progress indicator, the electronicdevice displays an interface including one or more visual objectsspecified by the application (e.g., a message or image stating “Thankyou for your order”). In some examples, if the electronic device doesnot successfully perform the task, the electronic device provides anatural-language output to the user indicating the task was notperformed successfully (e.g., “There was a problem. Try again,” and,optionally, displays an affordance (846) by which the user can initiatean additional attempt at performance of the task.

In some examples, the confirmation interface includes an applicationaffordance (828, 850). In some examples, the application affordance isan affordance that indicates (e.g., identifies) an application and/ortask associated with the suggestion affordance. In some examples, theapplication affordance is any portion of the confirmation interfaceother than the confirmation affordance and/or cancel affordance. In someexamples, the electronic device detects a third user input correspondingto a selection of the application affordance (932). In some examples,the application affordance is selected using a touch input, a gesture,or a combination thereof. In some examples, the application affordanceis selected using a voice input. In some examples, in response todetecting the third user input, the electronic device executes (e.g.,launches, initiates) an application associated with the task (934). Insome examples, the user selects a displayed icon and/or name of anapplication to launch the application corresponding to the task of theselection affordance. In some examples, the application is, optionally,preloaded with one or more parameters (e.g., subject and/or body of anemail).

In some examples, the suggestion affordance includes a visual indicationof a parameter affecting performance of the task. In some examples, thesuggestion affordance corresponds to a task to be performed using one ormore specified parameters (e.g., order particular coffee size and typeusing a Starbucks app, send text with a specific message). In someexamples, executing the application associated with the task includespreloading the application with the parameter. In some examples, theapplication is executed such that parameters of the task are entered onbehalf of the user (e.g., order already in cart and user need onlyindicate intent to order, message inserted into message compositionfield and user need only indicate intent to send).

In some examples, the confirmation interface includes a cancelaffordance. In some examples, the electronic device detects a fourthuser input corresponding to a selection of the cancel affordance. Insome examples, the cancel affordance is selected using a touch input, agesture, or a combination thereof. In some examples, the cancelaffordance is selected using a voice input. In some examples, inresponse to detecting the fourth user input, the electronic deviceforgoes performing the task. In some examples, the electronic devicefurther ceases to display the confirmation interface in response todetecting the fourth user input.

In some examples, the first user input is an input of a first type. Insome examples, the electronic device, while displaying the userinterface, detects a user input of a second type corresponding to aselection of the suggestion affordance. In some examples, the suggestionaffordance is selected using a touch input, a gesture, or a combinationthereof. In some examples, the suggestion affordance is selected using avoice input. In some examples, the touch input is an input of a secondtype, such as a press of a relatively long duration or high intensity.In some examples, the input of the second type is different than theinput of the first type. In some examples, in response to detecting theuser input of the second type, the electronic device displays theconfirmation interface.

Note that details of the processes described above with respect tomethod 900 (e.g., FIGS. 9A-9B) are also applicable in an analogousmanner to the methods described below. For example, method 900optionally includes one or more of the characteristics of the variousmethods described with reference to methods 1100, 1300, 1500, 1700, and1900.

The operations in the methods described above are, optionally,implemented by running one or more functional modules in an informationprocessing apparatus such as general purpose processors (e.g., asdescribed with respect to FIGS. 2A, 4, and 6A) or application specificchips. Further, the operations described above with reference to FIGS.8A-8AF are, optionally, implemented by components depicted in FIGS.2A-B. For example, displaying operation 908, detecting operation 916,performing operation 920, and displaying operation 922 are, optionally,implemented by event sorter 270, event recognizer 280, and event handler290. Event monitor 271 in event sorter 270 detects a contact ontouch-sensitive surface 604 (FIG. 6A), and event dispatcher module 274delivers the event information to application 236-1 (FIG. 2B). Arespective event recognizer 280 of application 236-1 compares the eventinformation to respective event definitions 286, and determines whethera first contact at a first location on the touch-sensitive surfacecorresponds to a predefined event or sub-event, such as selection of anobject on a user interface. When a respective predefined event orsub-event is detected, event recognizer 280 activates an event handler290 associated with the detection of the event or sub-event. Eventhandler 290 optionally utilizes or calls data updater 276 or objectupdater 277 to update the application internal state 292. In someembodiments, event handler 290 accesses a respective GUI updater 278 toupdate what is displayed by the application. Similarly, it would beclear to a person having ordinary skill in the art how other processescan be implemented based on the components depicted in FIGS. 2A-2B.

FIGS. 10A-10AJ illustrate exemplary user interfaces for providing voiceshortcuts on an electronic device (e.g., device 104, device 122, device200, device 600, or device 700), in accordance with some embodiments.The user interfaces in these figures are used to illustrate theprocesses described below, including the processes in FIGS. 11A-B.

Generally, user interfaces described with reference to FIGS. 10A-10AJmay be employed such that a user can associate tasks with respectiveuser-specific phrases. These phrases may in turn be used to cause theelectronic device to perform the associated tasks.

FIG. 10A illustrates an electronic device 1000 (e.g., device 104, device122, device 200, device 600, or device 700). In the non-limitingexemplary embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 10A-10AJ, electronic device1000 is a smartphone. In other embodiments, electronic device 1000 canbe a different type of electronic device, such as a wearable device(e.g., a smartwatch). In some examples, electronic device 1000 has adisplay 1001, one or more input devices (e.g., touchscreen of display1001, a button, a microphone), and a wireless communication radio. Insome examples, the electronic device 1000 includes a plurality ofcameras. In some examples, the electronic device includes only onecamera. In some examples, the electronic device includes one or morebiometric sensors (e.g., biometric sensor 1003) which, optionally,include a camera, such as an infrared camera, a thermographic camera, ora combination thereof.

In FIG. 10A, the electronic device 1000 displays, on display 1001, asettings interface 1004. The settings interface 1004 includes acandidate task portion 1006 and additional tasks affordance 1014. Thecandidate task portion 1006 includes candidate task affordances 1008,1010, and 1012. In some examples, in response to selection of theadditional tasks affordance 1014, the electronic device 1000 displays aglobal tasks interface, such as the global task interface 1018A, asdescribed with respect to FIG. 10S below.

In some examples, in response to selection of a candidate taskaffordance, the electronic device 1000 displays a task-specificinterface. The task-specific interface is associated with a task of thecandidate task affordance in some examples. By way of example, whiledisplaying the settings interface 1004, the electronic device 1000detects selection of the candidate task affordance 1008. In someexamples, the selection is a tap gesture 1016 on the candidate taskaffordance 1008. As shown in FIG. 10B, in response to detecting tapgesture 1016, the electronic device 1000 displays the task-specificinterface 1018. The task-specific interface 1018 may be associated witha task of the candidate task affordance 1008 (e.g., View Side of HouseCamera). In some examples, selecting a candidate task affordanceinitiates a voice shortcut generation process for a task correspondingto the candidate task affordance. Accordingly, selection of thecandidate task affordance 1008 may initiate a voice shortcut generationprocess for a task of the candidate task affordance 1008.

Task-specific interface 1018 includes task icon 1020, task indicator1022, task descriptor 1024, application indicator 1026, candidate phrase1028, and record affordance 1030. In some examples, task icon 1020includes an icon or image corresponding to the task. In some examples,task indicator 1022 indicates a name and/or type of the task. In someexamples, task descriptor 1024 includes a description of the task and/orindicates that a user may record a command or phrase to be linked withthe task. In some examples, application indicator 1026 identifies anapplication corresponding to the task. The application indicator 1026may, for instance, include a name of the application and/or an iconassociated with the application. Candidate phrase 1028 includes asuggested phrase that the user may elect to associate with the task.

While displaying the task-specific interface 1018, the electronic device1000 detects selection of the record affordance 1030. As shown in FIG.10C, selection of the record affordance 1030 is a tap gesture 1032. Inresponse to selection of the record affordance 1030, the electronicdevice displays (e.g., replaces display of the task-specific interface1018 with), on the display 1001, a record interface 1034.

With reference to FIG. 10D, record interface 1034 includes cancelaffordance 1036, return affordance 1038, preview 1042, and stopaffordance 1044. In some examples, in response to selection of thecancel affordance 1036, the electronic device ceases display of therecord interface 1034 and, optionally, terminates the voice shortcutgeneration process. In some examples, in response to selection of thereturn affordance, the electronic device displays (e.g., replacesdisplay of record interface 1038 with) task-specific interface 1018.

In some examples, while displaying the record interface 1034, theelectronic device 1000 receives, using an audio input device (e.g.,microphone) of the electronic device 1000, a natural-language speechinput from a user. In some examples, while receiving thenatural-language speech input, the electronic device 1000 provides alive preview of the natural-language speech input, such as the livepreview 1042. As shown in FIG. 10D, the live preview 1042 is, in someexamples, a visual waveform indicative of one or more auditorycharacteristics of the natural-language speech input.

With reference to FIG. 10E, if after initially displaying the recordinterface 1034, the user does not provide a natural-language speechinput for a predetermined amount of time, the electronic device 1000can, optionally, display a prompt to the user including a candidatephrase, such as the candidate phrase 1046 (e.g., “View Side of HouseLive Stream”). In some examples, the candidate phrase 1046 is the sameas the candidate phrase 1028 (FIG. 10D). In other examples, thecandidate phrase 1046 is different than the candidate phrase 1028.

In some examples, while receiving the natural-language speech input, theelectronic device 1000 performs speech-to-text translation (e.g.,natural-language speech processing) on the natural-language speech inputto provide a candidate phrase 1048. As shown in FIGS. 10F-G, because thespeech-to-text translation is performed while the natural-languagespeech input is received, the candidate phrase 1048 may be iterativelyand/or continuously updated while the natural-language speech input isreceived.

In some examples, the electronic device 1000 ensures that the candidatephrase is different than one or more predetermined phrases (e.g., “call911”). By way of example, the electronic device 1000 determines whethera similarity between the candidate phrase and each of the one or morepredetermined phrases exceeds a similarity threshold. If the similaritythreshold is not met, the electronic device 1000 will notify the userthat the provided candidate phrase is not sufficient and/or notpermitted. The electronic device 1000 further may request that the userprovide another natural-language speech input.

While displaying the record interface 1034, the electronic device 1000detects selection of the stop affordance 1044. As shown in FIG. 10G,selection of the stop affordance 1044 is a tap gesture 1050. In responseto selection of the stop affordance 1044, the electronic device 1000displays (e.g., replaces display of the record interface 1034 with), onthe display 1001, a completion interface 1052, as shown in FIG. 10H.

The completion interface 1052 includes a completion affordance 1054,cancel affordance 1056, task icon 1058, task indicator 1060, applicationindicator 1062, candidate phrase 1064, and edit affordance 1066. In someexamples, in response to selection of the cancel affordance 1056, theelectronic device 1000 ceases display of the completion interface 1052and, optionally, terminates the voice shortcut generation process. Insome examples, task icon 1058 includes an icon or image corresponding tothe task. In some examples, task indicator 1060 indicates a name and/ortype of the task. In some examples, application indicator 1062identifies an application corresponding to the task. The applicationindicator may, for instance, include a name of the application and/or anicon associated with the application. Candidate phrase 1028 is asuggested phrase that the user may elect to associate with the task.

In some examples, while displaying the completion interface 1052, theelectronic device 1000 detects selection of the edit affordance 1066. Asshown in FIG. 10I, selection of the edit affordance 1066 is a tapgesture 1068. In response to selection of the edit affordance 1068, theelectronic device 1000 displays (e.g., replaces display of thecompletion interface 1052 with), on the display 1001, an edit interface1070 as shown in FIG. 10J.

The edit interface 1070 includes completion affordance 1072, cancelaffordance 1074, task icon 1076, task indicator 1078, candidate phraseranking 1080 and re-record affordance 1088. In some examples, inresponse to selection of the cancel affordance 1056, the electronicdevice 1000 ceases display of the edit interface 1070 and, optionally,terminates the voice shortcut generation process. In some examples, taskicon 1076 includes an icon or image corresponding to the task. In someexamples, task indicator 1078 indicates a name and/or type of the task.

As described, in some examples, the electronic device 1000 provides acandidate phrase (e.g., candidate phrase 1048) based on anatural-language speech input provided by a user. In some examples,providing the candidate phrase in this manner includes generating aplurality of candidate phrases (e.g., candidate phrases 1082, 1084,1086) and selecting a candidate phrase associated with a highest score(e.g., text representation confidence score). In some examples,candidate phrase ranking 1080 includes a plurality of candidate phrasesgenerated by the electronic device 1000 prior to selecting the candidatephrase associated with the highest score. In some examples, candidatephrase ranking 1080 includes a set (e.g., 3) of top ranking candidatephrases which are, optionally, listed according to the respective scoreof each candidate phrase. As illustrated in FIG. 10J, for instance,candidate phrase ranking 1080 includes candidate phrases 1082, 1084, and1086. Candidate phrase 1082 may correspond to candidate phrase 1064 insome examples.

In some examples, the user may select a new (or same) candidate phrasefrom candidate phrases 1082, 1084, 1086 of the candidate phrase ranking1080. As illustrated in FIG. 10K, for example, the electronic device1000 detects selection of candidate phrase 1080 while displaying theedit interface 1070. Selection of the candidate phrase 1080 is a tapgesture 1090. In some examples, in response to selection of thecandidate phrase 1080, the electronic device 1000 selects the candidatephrase 1080 as the new (or same) candidate phrase. In some examples, theelectronic device selects the candidate phrase 1080 as the new (or same)candidate phrase in response to selection of both the candidate phrase1080 and completion affordance 1072.

In some examples, the candidate phrase ranking may not include a phraseintended or preferred by a user. Accordingly, in some examples, inresponse to selection of the re-record affordance 1088, the electronicdevice 1000 displays (e.g., replaces display of the edit interface 1070with) a record interface, such as the record interface 1034, to allow auser can provide a new natural-language speech input, as described.

In some examples, while displaying the completion interface 1052, theelectronic device 1000 detects selection of the completion affordance1054. As shown in FIG. 10L, selection of the completion affordance 1054is a tap gesture 1092. In response to selection of the completionaffordance 1054, the electronic device 1000 associates the candidatephrase with the task of the candidate task affordance 1008. Byassociating the candidate phrase with the task in this manner, the usermay provide (e.g., speak) the candidate phrase to a digital assistant ofthe electronic device to cause the device to perform the task associatedwith the candidate phrase. Candidate phrases associated with respectivetasks may be referred to as voice shortcuts herein. In some examples,further in response to selection of the completion affordance 1054, theelectronic device 1000 displays (e.g., replaces display of thecompletion interface 1052 with), on the display 1001, the settingsinterface 1004, as shown in FIG. 10M.

In some examples, because the task of the candidate task affordance 1008is assigned to a task, the candidate task affordance 1008 is notincluded in the candidate task portion 1006. In some examples, thecandidate task portion 1006 instead includes a candidate task suggestion1094 such that the candidate task portion 1006 includes at least athreshold number of candidate task affordances.

In some examples, if one or more candidate task affordances areassociated with a respective task, settings interface 1004 includes auser shortcuts affordance 1096. In some examples, while displaying thesettings interface 1004, the electronic device 1000 detects selection ofthe user shortcuts affordance 1096. As shown in FIG. 10N, the selectionof the user shortcuts affordance 1096 is a tap gesture 1098. In someexamples, in response to selection of the user shortcuts affordance1096, the electronic device 1000 displays (e.g., replaces display of thesettings interface 1004 with), on the display 1001, the user shortcutsinterface 1002A, as shown in FIG. 10O.

The user shortcuts interface 1002A includes edit affordance 1004A,return affordance 1006A, shortcut affordance 1008A, and additional tasksaffordance 1010A. In some examples, in response to selection of thereturn affordance 1006A, the electronic device 1000 displays settingsinterface 1004 (FIG. 10N). In some examples, in response to selection ofedit affordance 1004A, the electronic device 1000 displays an interfaceby which the voice shortcut associated with shortcut affordance 1008Amay be deleted. In some examples, in response to selection of additionaltasks affordance 1010A, the electronic device 1000 displays an interfaceincluding one or more candidate task affordances, such as the globaltask interface 1018A of FIG. 10S, described in further detail below.

In some examples, while displaying the user shortcuts interface 1002A,the electronic device 1000 detects selection of shortcut affordance1008A. As shown in FIG. 10P, the selection of the shortcut affordance1008A is a tap gesture 1004A. In some examples, in response to selectionof the shortcut affordance 1008A, the electronic device 1000 displays(e.g., replaces display of the user shortcuts interface 1002A with), onthe display 1001, the completion interface 1054 for the shortcutaffordance 1008A, as shown in FIG. 10Q. Completion interface 1054 mayinclude a delete affordance 1014A. In response to selection of thedelete affordance 1014A, the electronic device 1000 deletes the voiceshortcut associated with the task. Deleting a shortcut in this mannermay include disassociating the voice shortcut from the task such thatproviding the voice shortcut to a digital assistant of the electronicdevice 1000 does not cause the electronic device 1000 to perform thetask.

In some examples, while displaying the settings interface 1004, theelectronic device 1000 detects selection of the additional tasksaffordance 1014. As shown in FIG. 10R, the selection of the additionaltasks affordance 1014 is a tap gesture 1016A. In some examples, inresponse to selection of the shortcut affordance 1014, the electronicdevice 1000 displays (e.g., replaces display of the settings interface1004 with), on the display 1001, global task interface 1018A, as shownin FIG. 10S.

Global task interface 1018A includes, for each of a plurality ofapplications, a respective set of candidate task affordances. By way ofexample, global task interface 1018A includes a set of candidate taskaffordances 1020A associated with an activity application, a set ofcandidate task affordances 1026A associated with a calendar application,and a set of candidate task affordances 1036A associated with a musicapplication. The set of candidate task affordances 1020A can,optionally, include a “Start Workout” candidate task affordance 1022Aand a “View Daily Progress” candidate task affordance 1024A. The set ofcandidate task affordances 1026A can, optionally, include a “Send Lunchinvitation” candidate task affordance 1028A, a “Schedule Meeting”candidate task affordance 1030A, and a “Clear Events for a Day”candidate task affordance 1032A. The set of candidate task affordances1036A can, optionally, include a “Play Workout Playlist” candidate taskaffordance 1038A and a “Start R&B Radio” candidate task affordance1040A.

In some examples, candidate task affordances of the global taskinterface 1018A are searchable. By way of example, while displaying theglobal task interface 1018A, the electronic device detects a swipegesture on the display 1001, such as the swipe gesture 1046A of FIG.10T. In response to the swipe gesture 1046A, the electronic deviceslides the global task interface 1018A in a downward direction todisplay (e.g., reveal) a search field 1048A that may be used to searchcandidate task affordances of the global task interface 1018A, as shownin FIG. 10U.

In some examples, each set of candidate task affordances displayed bythe electronic device 1000 may be a subset of all available candidatetask affordances for a respective application. Accordingly, the user mayselect an application task list affordance, such as application-specifictask list affordances 1034A, 1042A, to reveal one or more additionalcandidate task affordances for an application corresponding to theapplication task list affordance. For example, while displaying theglobal task interface 1018A, the electronic device 1000 detectsselection of application task list affordance 1042A. As shown in FIG.10V, the selection of application task list affordance 1042A is a tapgesture 1050A. In some examples, in response to selection of theapplication task list affordance 1042A, the electronic device 1000displays (e.g., replaces display of the global task interface 1018Awith), on the display 1001, application task interface 1052A, as shownin FIG. 10W. As shown, application task interface 1052A includes areturn affordance, which when selected, causes the electronic device1000 to display the global task interface 1018A, and candidate taskaffordances 1054A-1070A.

In some examples, while displaying the settings interface 1004, theelectronic device 1000 detects a swipe gesture on the display 1001, suchas the swipe gesture 1074A of FIG. 10X. As shown in FIG. 10Y, inresponse to the swipe gesture 1074A, the electronic device 1000 slidesthe settings interface 1004 in an upward direction to display (e.g.,reveal) various settings. The settings, when enabled, adjust the mannerin which candidate task affordances and suggestion affordances, such asthose described with reference to FIG. 8A-8AF, are displayed by theelectronic device 1000. For example, settings interface 1004 includes ashortcut enablement setting 1076A, which, when enabled, allows theelectronic device 1000 to display candidate task affordances, asdescribed herein. As another example, settings interface 1004 includes asearch suggestion enablement setting 1078A, which, when enabled, allowsthe electronic device 1000 to display suggestion affordances on a searchscreen interface. As another example, settings interface 1004 includes alookup suggestion enablement setting 1080A, which, when enabled, allowsthe electronic device 1000 to display suggestion affordances on lookupresult screen interface. As yet another example, settings interface 1004includes a lock screen suggestion enablement setting 1082A, which, whenenabled, allows the electronic device 1000 to display suggestionaffordances on a lock screen interface.

Settings interface 1004 further includes application affordances 1084Aand 1086A, each of which is associated with a respective application. Insome examples, while displaying the settings interface 1004, theelectronic device 1000 detects selection of the application affordance1086A. As shown in FIG. 10Y, the selection of the application affordance1086A is a tap gesture 1088A. In some examples, in response to selectionof the application affordance 1086A, the electronic device 1000 displays(e.g., replaces display of the settings interface 1004 with), on thedisplay 1001, application settings interface 1090A, as shown in FIG.10Z.

In some examples, application settings interface 1090A includesapplication user shortcut affordance 1092A, which may correspond to avoice shortcut previously generated by the user, for instance, using avoice shortcut generation process described herein. Application settingsinterface 1090A further may include candidate task affordances1094A-1098A, each of which may correspond to a respective taskassociated with the application of application settings interface 1090A.In some examples, application settings interface 1090A further includesapplication task list affordance 1002B. In some examples, in response toselection of application task list affordance 1002B, the electronicdevice 1000 displays (e.g., replaces display of the application settingsinterface 1090A with), on the display 1001, an application taskinterface, such as the application task interface 1052A (FIG. 10W). Insome examples, application settings interface 1090A further includesapplication suggestion enablement setting 1004B, which, when enabled,allows the electronic device 1000 to display suggestion affordancesassociated with the application on a search screen interface, look upresult screen interface and/or keyboard interface. In some examples,application settings interface 1090A further includes applicationsuggestion enablement setting 1006B, which, when enabled, allows theelectronic device 1000 to display suggestion affordances associated withthe application on a lock screen interface.

In some examples, application settings interface 1090A further includesedit affordance 1010B. In some examples, while application settingsinterface 1090A, the electronic device 1000 detects selection of theedit affordance 1010B. As shown in FIG. 10AA, the selection of the editaffordance 1010B is a tap gesture 1012B. In some examples, in responseto selection of the edit affordance 1010B, the electronic device 1000displays (e.g., replaces display of the application settings interface1090A with), on the display 1001, application-specific edit interface1014B, as shown in FIG. 10AB. In some examples, the application-specificedit interface 1014B is displayed over a first portion of theapplication settings interface 1090A and a second portion of theapplication settings interface 1090A is visually obscured (e.g.,darkened, blurred).

In some examples, displaying the application settings interface 1090Aincludes displaying a selection affordance (e.g., selection affordance1020B) for each application user shortcut affordance (e.g., applicationuser shortcut affordance 1092A) of the application settings interface1090A. In an example operation, the electronic device 1000 detectsselection of the selection affordance 1020B, indicating a selection ofcorresponding application user shortcut affordance 1092A and an intentby the user to delete application user shortcut affordance 1092A. Insome examples, a user may confirm deletion by selecting confirmationaffordance 1018B, or forgo deletion by selecting cancel affordance1016B.

In FIG. 10AC, the electronic device 1000 displays an applicationpermissions interface 1022B for a particular application. Theapplication permissions interface 1022 includes a suggestionspermissions affordance 1026B. While displaying the applicationpermissions interface 1022, the electronic device 1000 detects selectionof the suggestions permissions affordance 1026B. As shown in FIG. 10AC,the selection of the suggestions permissions affordance 1026B is a tapgesture 1032B. In some examples, in response to selection of thesuggestions permissions affordance 1026B, the electronic device 1000displays (e.g., replaces display of the application-specific permissionsinterface 1022B with), on the display 1001, an application settingsinterface, such as the application settings interface 1034B of FIG.10AD.

In some examples, a voice shortcut generation process may be initiatedusing an application-specific settings interface. Accordingly, in someexamples, application settings interface 1034B may include a candidatetask affordance 1038B. In some examples, while displaying theapplication settings interface 1034B, the electronic device 1000 detectsselection of the candidate task affordance 1038B. As shown in FIG. 10AE,selection of the candidate task affordance 1038B is a tap gesture 1050B.In response to selection of the candidate suggestion affordance 1038B,the electronic device 1000 displays a task-specific interface 1054Bassociated with a task of the candidate task affordance 1038B, asillustrated in FIG. 10AF.

With reference to FIGS. AF-AH, a user may thereafter generate a voiceshortcut by providing a natural-language speech input (e.g., “CoffeeMe”) to the electronic device, and in turn the electronic deviceprovides a candidate phrase for association with the task (e.g., orderlarge latte with oat milk from nearby coffee shop) of the candidate taskaffordance 1038B, as described. Once a voice shortcut for the task hasbeen generated, the electronic device 1000 displays application settingsinterface 1034B. As illustrated in FIG. 10AI, application settingsinterface 1034B includes an application user shortcut affordance 1036B.In some examples, in response to selection of the application-specificuser shortcut affordance 1036B, the electronic device displays voiceshortcuts associated with tasks of the application.

In some examples, a voice shortcut generation process may be initiatedusing an application interface, such as a third party applicationinterface. As illustrated in FIG. 10AJ, for instance, a user maycomplete a task using an application (e.g., order coffee). In response,the application may display a task completion interface 1060B includingcandidate task suggestion affordance 1062B. In some examples, inresponse to selection of candidate task suggestion affordance 1062B, theelectronic device initiates a voice shortcut generation process.

FIGS. 11A-11B is a flow diagram illustrating a method for providingvoice shortcuts in accordance with some embodiments. Method 1100 isperformed at a device (e.g., device 104, device 122, device 200, device600, device 700, device 1000) with a display, one or more input devices(e.g., a touchscreen, a mic, a camera), and a wireless communicationradio (e.g., a Bluetooth connection, WiFi connection, a mobile broadbandconnection such as a 4G LTE connection). In some embodiments, thedisplay is a touch-sensitive display. In some embodiments, the displayis not a touch sensitive display. In some embodiments, the electronicdevice includes a plurality of cameras. In some embodiments, theelectronic device includes only one camera. In some examples, the deviceincludes one or more biometric sensors which, optionally, include acamera, such as an infrared camera, a thermographic camera, or acombination thereof. Some operations in method 1100 are, optionally,combined, the orders of some operations are, optionally, changed, andsome operations are, optionally, omitted.

As described below, providing candidate phrases based on anatural-language speech input and associating candidate phrases withrespective tasks allows a user to accurately and efficiently generateuser-specific voice shortcuts that can be used to perform tasks on theelectronic device. For example, allowing a user to associate voiceshortcuts with tasks in this manner allows a user to visually confirmthat a desired voice shortcut has been selected and assigned to thecorrect task, thereby reducing the likelihood of an incorrect orunwanted association. Thus, providing candidate phrases in the mannerdescribed provides for more efficient use of the electronic device(e.g., by helping the user to provide proper inputs and reducing usermistakes when operating/interacting with the device), which,additionally, reduces power usage and improves battery life of thedevice by enabling the user to use the device more quickly andefficiently.

In some examples, the electronic device (104, 200, 600, 700, 1000)displays a plurality of candidate task affordances (1008, 1010, 1012,1038B, 2006) including a candidate task affordance (1008, 1038B, 2006)associated with a task (1102). In some examples, the plurality of tasksare displayed in a settings interface or an application interface. Insome examples, each task of the plurality of tasks is a task suggested,for instance, based on context of the electronic device.

In some examples, the electronic device displays a plurality ofcandidate task affordances including a candidate task affordanceassociated with a task includes displaying an application interface(1034B, 2060) including the plurality of candidate task affordances. Insome examples, the application interface is an interface of a thirdparty application (1062B) including one or more affordances(corresponding to a respective one or more candidate tasks) that theuser can select to cause display of the first user interface and therebycreate a voice shortcut for the selected task. In some examples, thefirst user interface (1018, 2066) is overlaid on the applicationinterface. In some examples, the first user interface is overlaid over aportion of the application interface. In some examples, the first userinterface is overlaid over the entirety of the application interface. Insome examples, the one or more affordances correspond to one or morerespective tasks and are displayed in response to completion of the oneor more tasks.

In some examples, the electronic device detects a set of inputs (1016,1032) including a first user input (1016, 2064) corresponding to aselection of the candidate task affordance associated with the task(1104).

In some examples, the electronic device, in response to the first userinput, displays a fourth interface (1018, 2066) associated with thetask. In some examples, the fourth user interface is an initialtask-specific interface for generating a voice shortcut. In someexamples, the interface specifies the task to associate with the voiceshortcut (1022) and further includes an indication of the relevantapplication (e.g., name of application) (1026) and/or an icon associatedwith (e.g., donated by) the application (1020, 1026). In some examples,the interface includes a cancel affordance. In response to selection ofthe cancel affordance, the electronic device returns to an immediatelyprior interface. In some examples, the interface includes a recordaffordance (1030, 2074). In response to selection of the recordaffordance, the electronic device records a speech input whiledisplaying a voice record interface (1034, 2078). In some examples, thefourth interface includes a first suggested voice shortcut phrase(1028). In some examples, the electronic device displays a suggestedvoice shortcut that a user may adopt as the voice shortcut for therelevant task.

In some examples, in response to detecting the set of user inputs, theelectronic device displays a first interface (1034, 2072) for generatinga voice shortcut associated with the task (1106). In some examples, thefirst interface is a voice record interface. In some examples, the voicerecord interface includes a prompt (1046) for the user to record aphrase that will be used as the voice shortcut for initiating a task. Insome examples, the voice record interface includes a live preview (1042,2082) of a natural-language speech input provided by the user. In someexamples, the live preview is an audio waveform.

In some examples, while displaying the first interface (1108), theelectronic device receives (e.g., samples, obtains, captures), by theaudio input device, a natural-language speech input (1110). In someexamples, the natural-language speech input is a phrase spoken by a userof the device. In some examples, the electronic device receives a speechinput for a predetermined of time and/or until a user selects a stopaffordance (1044, 2084).

In some examples, while receiving the natural-language speech input, theelectronic device provides (e.g., displays) a live (e.g., real-time)preview of the natural-language speech input. In some examples, the livepreview is a waveform of the natural-language input and/or a real-timedisplay of a speech-to-text translation of the natural-language input.In some examples, the live preview of the natural-language speech inputis a visual waveform of the natural-language speech input.

In some examples, in response to receiving the natural-language speechinput, the electronic device determines the candidate phrase based onthe natural-language speech input. In some examples, determining thecandidate phrase based on the natural-language speech input includesdetermining the candidate phrase using natural-language processing. Insome examples, while the user provides the natural-language speechinput, the electronic device uses natural-language processing totranslate the natural-language speech input to text.

In some examples, determining the candidate phrase based on thenatural-language speech input includes providing the natural-languagespeech input to another electronic device and receiving a representationof the candidate phrase (e.g., text representation, vectorrepresentation) from the another electronic device. In some examples,the electronic device provides the natural-language speech input and/ora representation of the NL speech input to a server and the serverreturns one or more candidate phrases.

In some examples, determining the candidate phrase based on thenatural-language speech input includes determining whether thenatural-language speech input satisfies phrase similarity criteria. Inaccordance with a determination that the natural-language speech inputsatisfies the phrase similarity criteria, the electronic deviceindicates (e.g., displays an indication) that the natural-languagespeech input satisfies the similarity criteria. In some examples, theelectronic device ensures that the natural-language speech input isdifferent than one or more predetermined phrases (e.g., “call 911”). Insome examples, the electronic device ensures that the natural-languagespeech input is sufficiently different than the one or morepredetermined phrases. By way of example, the electronic device mayensure that a similarity of a representation of the natural-languagespeech input and each of the one or more predetermined phrases does notexceed a similarity threshold. In some examples, if the natural-languagespeech input does not satisfy the similarity criteria, the electronicdevice will notify the user that the provided speech input is notsufficient and/or not permitted. The electronic device further mayrequest that the user provide a new natural-language speech input. Insome examples, the electronic device further compares thenatural-language input to phrases associated with one or more storedvoice shortcuts. In some examples, the electronic device instructs theuser to provide a new natural-language speech input and/or requestsconfirmation that the user intends for the natural-language speech inputto replace one or more other similarly phrased voice shortcuts. In someexamples, replaced voice shortcuts are deleted.

In some examples, the electronic device, while displaying the firstinterface (1034, ***), determines whether the natural-language speechinput has been received within a threshold amount of time. In someexamples, the electronic device, in accordance with a determination thatthe natural-language speech input has not been received within thethreshold amount of time, displays, on the first interface, a secondsuggested voice shortcut phrase (1046) (“You could say something like‘Show me side camera’”). In some examples, the suggested voice shortcutprovided on the first interface (1034) is the same as the suggestedvoice shortcut provided on the second interface (1028). In someexamples, the suggested voice shortcuts of the first and secondinterfaces are different.

In some examples, further while displaying the first interface, theelectronic device displays, in the first interface (1034), a candidatephrase (1046), wherein the candidate phrase is based on thenatural-language speech input (1120). In some examples, the candidatephrase is a speech-to-text translation of the natural-language speechinput and is displayed while the natural-language input is received bythe electronic device. In some examples, the electronic device displaysthe candidate phrase in response to the natural-language input and/ortranslates the natural-language speech input to text in real-time.Accordingly, in some examples, the electronic device continuouslyupdates display of the candidate phrase while the natural-language isreceived by the electronic device.

In some examples, after displaying the candidate phrase, the electronicdevice detects, via the touch-sensitive surface, a second user input(1092, 2004A) (1122). In some examples, the second user input is aselection of a completion affordance (1072, 2092). In some examples, thesecond user input is selection of an affordance, such as a confirmationaffordance of a completion interface (1054, ***).

In some examples, in response to detection of the second user input, theelectronic device associates the candidate phrase with the task (1124).In some examples, the electronic device generates a voice shortcut suchthat recitation of the candidate phrase by the user to the digitalassistant results in performance of the task.

In some examples, associating the candidate phrase with the taskincludes associating the candidate phrase with a first action andassociating the candidate phrase with a second action. In some examples,a voice shortcut corresponds to a multiple tasks. In some examples thecombination of tasks is suggested by the digital assistant and a usermay assign a phrase to initiate performance of the combination of tasks.By way of example, the voice shortcut “secure house” may correspond totasks for turning off lights and locking doors.

In some examples, the electronic device receives, by the audio inputdevice, a user speech input (e.g., natural-language speech input). Insome examples, the electronic device determines whether the user speechinput includes the candidate phrase. In some examples, the electronicdevice, in accordance with a determination that the user speech inputincludes the candidate phrase, performs the task. In some examples, theelectronic device, in accordance with a determination that the userspeech input does not include the candidate phrase, forgoes performingthe task.

In some examples, the electronic device, after associating the candidatephrase with the task, displays a second interface including an editaffordance. In some examples, the electronic device displays the secondinterface at the end of the voice shortcut generation process. In someexamples, the user may navigate to the voice shortcut in an interface(1004A) listing one or more stored voice shortcuts (1008A) and selectthe voice shortcut to cause display of the second interface. In someexamples, the second user interface (1054, 2090) includes a textualrepresentation of the task (1060, 2098), an indication of the task(1058), the candidate phrase (1064, 2002A), an edit affordance (1066)which when selected causes display of candidate shortcuts, a cancelaffordance (1056, 2094) which when selected causes the device to cancelthe voice shortcut generation process, and a completion affordance(1054, 2092 which when selected causes the electronic device toassociate the candidate phrase with the task or maintain association ofthe candidate phrase with the task if already associated.

In some examples, the electronic device detects a third user inputindicating a selection of the edit affordance (1068). In some examples,the electronic device, in response to detecting the third user input,displays a plurality of candidate phrase affordances (1082, 1084, 1086)including a first candidate phrase affordance corresponding to thecandidate phrase and a second candidate phrase affordance correspondingto another candidate phrase. In some examples, the another candidatephrase is based on the natural-language speech input. In some examples,the electronic device, in response to selection of the edit affordance,displays an edit interface (1070) including a plurality of candidatephrases. In some examples, a user may select one of the candidatephrases to associate with the task. In some examples, each of theplurality of candidate phrases are speech-to-text candidates generated,based on the natural-language speech input, using one or more NLPmethodologies. In some examples, the NL speech input is provided toanother device (e.g., back-end server), which returns one or more of thecandidate phrases to the electronic device. In some examples, candidatephrases are generated on both the electronic device and a backendserver, and the electronic device selects one or more of the “best”candidate phrases (e.g., candidate phrases associated with highestrespective confidence scores).

In some examples, the electronic device, detects another set of inputs(1090, 1092) including a fourth user input indicating a selection of thesecond candidate phrase affordance. In some examples, the electronicdevice, in response to detecting the another set of inputs, associatesthe another candidate phrase with the task. In some examples, a userselects a new candidate phrase to associate with the task such thatproviding the new candidate phrase causes performance of the task. Insome examples, associating a new candidate task causes the electronicdevice to disassociate the previously associated candidate phrase fromthe task.

In some examples, the electronic device, after associating the candidatephrase with the task, detects a fifth input (1092, 2004A). In someexamples, the electronic device, in response to detecting the fifth userinput, displays another plurality of candidate task affordances, whereinthe another plurality of candidate task affordances does not include thecandidate task affordance associated with the task. In some examples,after creating a voice shortcut, the electronic device displays asettings interface (1004) listing candidate tasks suggested by thedigital assistant and/or one or more applications. In some examples, ifa task was previously suggested and a user created a shortcut for thetask, the task is removed from the list of suggested tasks.

In some examples, the electronic device provides the candidate phrase toanother electronic device. In some examples, the generated voiceshortcut is provided to a backend server for subsequent speech inputmatching. In some examples, the generated voice shortcut and theassociated task are provided to the backend server. In some examples,inputs are provided from the electronic device to the backend server andthe backend server determines whether the input corresponds to a voiceshortcut. If the backend server determines the input corresponds to avoice shortcut, the electronic device performs the task. In someexamples, providing each of the shortcut and the task to the server inthis manner further allows for subsequent performance of the task onother electronic devices using the same shortcut.

Note that details of the processes described above with respect tomethod 1100 (e.g., FIGS. 11A-11B) are also applicable in an analogousmanner to the methods described below. For example, method 1100optionally includes one or more of the characteristics of the variousmethods described with reference to methods 900, 1300, 1500, 1700, and1900. For example, providing voice shortcuts as described in method 1200can be applied to generate voice shortcuts for use as described inmethod 1300. For brevity, these details are not repeated below.

The operations in the methods described above are, optionally,implemented by running one or more functional modules in an informationprocessing apparatus such as general purpose processors (e.g., asdescribed with respect to FIGS. 2A, 4, and 6A) or application specificchips. Further, the operations described above with reference to FIGS.10A-10AJ are, optionally, implemented by components depicted in FIGS.2A-B. For example, displaying operation 1102, detecting operation 1104,displaying operation 1106, receiving operation 1110, displayingoperation 1120, detecting operation 1122, and associating operation 1124are, optionally, implemented by event sorter 270, event recognizer 280,and event handler 290. Event monitor 271 in event sorter 270 detects acontact on touch-sensitive surface 604 (FIG. 6A), and event dispatchermodule 274 delivers the event information to application 236-1 (FIG.2B). A respective event recognizer 280 of application 236-1 compares theevent information to respective event definitions 286, and determineswhether a first contact at a first location on the touch-sensitivesurface corresponds to a predefined event or sub-event, such asselection of an object on a user interface. When a respective predefinedevent or sub-event is detected, event recognizer 280 activates an eventhandler 290 associated with the detection of the event or sub-event.Event handler 290 optionally utilizes or calls data updater 276 orobject updater 277 to update the application internal state 292. In someembodiments, event handler 290 accesses a respective GUI updater 278 toupdate what is displayed by the application. Similarly, it would beclear to a person having ordinary skill in the art how other processescan be implemented based on the components depicted in FIGS. 2A-2B.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a task suggestion system 1200,according to various examples. FIG. 12 is also used to illustrate one ormore of the processes described below, including the method 1300 of FIG.13.

FIG. 12 illustrates a task suggestion system 1200 that may, forinstance, be implemented on an electronic device described herein,including but not limited to devices 104, 200, 400, and 600 (FIGS. 1,2A, 4, and 6A-B). It will be appreciated that while the task suggestionsystem 1200 is described herein as being implemented on a mobile device,the task suggestion system 1200 may be implemented on a device of anytype, such as a phone, laptop computer, desktop computer, tablet,wearable device (e.g., smart watch), set-top box, television, homeautomation device (e.g., thermostat), or any combination orsubcombination thereof.

Generally, the task suggestion system 1200 provides task suggestionsbased on context data of an electronic device. Task suggestions providedby the task suggestion system 1200 may in turn be used to providesuggestion affordances, such as those described with respect to FIGS.8A-8AF. In some examples, the task suggestion system 1200 is implementedas a probability model. The model may include one or more stages,including but not limited to the first stage 1210, second stage 1220,and third stage 1230, each of which is described in further detailbelow. In some examples, one or more of first stage 1210, second stage1220, and third stage 1230 may be combined into a single stage and/orsplit into multiple stages. By way of example, in an alternativeimplementation, the task suggestion system 1200 may include a firststage and a second stage, where the first stage implements thefunctionality of both first stage 1210 and second stage 1220.

In some examples, context data of the electronic device is indicative ofa state or context of the electronic device. By way of example, contextdata may indicate various characteristics of the electronic deviceduring a time at which a particular task was performed. For instance,for each task performed by the electronic device, context data mayindicate a location of the electronic device, whether the electronicdevice was connected to a network (e.g., WiFi network), whether theelectronic device was connected to one or more other devices (e.g.,headphones), and/or a time, date, and/or weekday at which the task wasperformed. If the electronic device was connected to a network or deviceduring performance of the task, the context data may further indicate aname and/or type of the network or device, respectively. Context datafurther may indicate whether a suggestion affordance associated with atask was previously presented to a user and the manner in which the userresponded to the suggestion affordance. For instance, the context datamay indicate whether the user ignored the task suggestion or used thetask suggestion to perform a corresponding task.

In some examples, the electronic device receives context data fromapplications during operation of the electronic device. In someexamples, an application provides context data for a task whileperforming a task or after performing a task. Context data provided inthis manner may be indicative of a task and, optionally, one or moreparameters associated with the task. In some examples, context dataprovided by an application further includes data indicative of the stateof the electronic device while the task was performed, described above(e.g., location of the electronic device, whether the electronic devicewas connected to a network, etc.). In other examples, context dataprovided by an application does not include data indicative of the stateof the electronic device while the task was performed, and in responseto receipt of context data from an application, the electronic deviceobtains data indicative of the state of the electronic device.

In some examples, context data is provided by applications using any ofa plurality of context data donation mechanisms. In at least oneexample, context data is received from applications in response to anAPI call which causes an application to return information regardingexecution of the application. By way of example, a word processingapplication (e.g., Notes, Word) may return an identifier (e.g.,numerical ID, name) of a word processing document accessed by a user. Asanother example, a media playback application (e.g., Music, Spotify) mayreturn an identifier of a current media item (e.g., song), album,playlist, collection, and one or more media items suggested by the mediaplayback application for the user.

In some examples, context data is received from applications in responseto an API call which causes an application to provide a data structureindicating (e.g., identifying) a task performed by an application. Thedata structure may, for instance, include values for one or moreparameters associated with the task. In some examples, the datastructure is implemented as an intent object data structure. Additionalexemplary description of operation with intent object data structurescan be found in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/269,728,“APPLICATION INTEGRATION WITH A DIGITAL ASSISTANT,” filed Sep. 18, 2016,which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

In some examples, context data is received from applications in responseto an API call which causes an application to provide anapplication-specific (e.g., third-party application) data structureindicating a task performed by an application. The application-specificdata structure may, for instance, include values for one or moreparameters associated with the task. The application-specific datastructure can, optionally, further indicate which parameter values ofthe task may be specified when providing task suggestions as well aswhich combinations of parameter values. Thus, while a task having Mparameters may have as many as 2^(M)−1 permitted combinations ofparameters, an application-specific data structure may explicitly reducethe number of permitted combinations. In some examples, theapplication-specific data structure indicates whether the task is abackground task or a task requiring confirmation, as previouslydescribed with respect to FIGS. 8A-8AF.

In some examples, context data is provided by an application each time atask is performed on the electronic device. Context data may, forinstance, be provided while the task is performed or after the task isperformed. For instance, in some examples, the electronic device detectsthat an application has been closed, and in response, employs one ormore context data donation mechanisms to request context data from theapplication.

In some examples, context data is selectively provided based on types oftasks. By way of example, context data may be provided in response to auser sending a text message or placing a call, but not in response to auser navigating to a web page using a browser or unlocking theelectronic device. In some examples, context data is selectivelyprovided based on context of the electronic device. For instance,context data may not be provided if a charge level of a battery of theelectronic device is below a threshold charge level.

In some examples, each type of context data (e.g., location of theelectronic device, whether the electronic device is connected to anetwork, etc.) is associated with a respective context weight. Thecontext weights may be used, for instance, to influence the manner inwhich context data is used to determine probabilities. As an example,types of context determined to be stronger predictors of user behaviormay be associated with relatively large weights and/or types of contextdetermined to be weaker predictors of user behavior may be associatedwith relatively small weights. By way of example, tasks performed by auser when the electronic device is at a particular location may be abetter indicator of user behavior than tasks performed by a user on aparticular a weekday. Accordingly, location context data may beassociated with a relatively large weight and weekday context data maybe associated with a relatively small weight. As another example,whether a user selected a suggestion affordance for a task may beassociated with a relatively large weight as such context data maystrongly indicate whether the user is likely to select subsequentsuggestion affordances for the task.

In some examples, context weights are determined by the electronicdevice. In other examples, weights are determined by another deviceusing aggregated data. For instance, in some examples, anonymizedcontext data may be provided by the electronic device and/or one or moreother devices to a data aggregation server. In turn, the dataaggregation server may determine which types of context data are morediscriminative and/or stronger predictors of user behavior. In someexamples, the data aggregation server employs one or more machinelearning techniques to determine which types of context data arerelatively discriminative and/or stronger predictors of user behavior.Based on the determination, the data aggregation server may determine aweight for each type of context data and provide the weights to theelectronic device. In some examples, a user may elect to forgo (e.g.,opt out of) providing anonymized data to another device for determiningcontext weights.

By ensuring that context data used by the data aggregation server isanonymized, privacy of users of electronic devices may be preserved.Anonymizing context data may include removing names of users, specificlocations recorded by the electronic device, names of WiFi networks, andany other user-specific information. Anonymized context data may, forinstance, specify that a user performed a certain task 20% of the timewhen at a same location, but not specify which task or location.

In an example operation, the first stage 1210 performs task-specificmodeling based on context data of the electronic device. In someexamples, performing task-specific modeling includes determining one ormore probabilities (e.g., task probabilities) for each of a plurality oftasks (e.g., one or more tasks previously performed by the electronicdevice and/or one or more tasks that may be performed by the electronicdevice). Each task probability determined in this manner indicates alikelihood that a user will perform a task given a context of theelectronic device.

In some examples, determining task probabilities in this manner includesgenerating and/or updating one or more histograms based on the contextdata. First stage 1210 may, for instance, generate a respective set ofhistograms for each task indicating probabilities that a user performstasks given various contexts of the electronic device. In some examples,each histogram associated with a task corresponds to a single type ofcontext. As an example, a first histogram associated with a task forenabling a thermostat may be a location context histogram. The locationcontext histogram may indicate, for each of a plurality of locations inwhich the user has previously enabled a thermostat, a probability that auser enables a thermostat when at the location. A second histogramassociated with the task for enabling a thermostat may be a WiFi contexthistogram. The WiFi context histogram may indicate, for each of aplurality of WiFi networks to which the electronic device has previouslybeen connected, a probability that a user enables a thermostat when theelectronic device is connected to the WiFi network. It will beappreciated that context data of the electronic device may include anynumber of types of context. Accordingly, a task may be associated withany number of histograms.

In some examples, to determine a task probability for a task given aparticular context, first stage 1210 may determine a respectiveprobability for each context type given the context (e.g., as indicatedby each histogram associated with the task) and determine the taskprobability based on the probabilities for the context types.

In some examples, determining task probabilities further may includeadjusting context data using context weights. As described, each contexttype may be associated with a weight. Accordingly, prior to determininga task probability based on context probabilities, each contextprobability may be adjusted (e.g., multiplied) by a correspondingcontext weight.

In some examples, task probabilities provided by first stage 1210 areparameter-independent. That is, task probabilities may be determined(e.g., histograms generated) for each task without consideration ofspecific parameter values used to perform the task. As an example, thefirst stage 1210 can determine a probability of a user sending a textmessage given a particular context (e.g., at a particular time), but mayforgo determining probabilities directed to the recipient of the textmessage or the contents (e.g., text, image) of the text message. Asanother example, the first stage 1210 can determine a probability that auser will enable a thermostat when arriving at home, but forgodetermining any probabilities directed to temperature thresholds of thethermostat.

In some examples, first stage 1210 updates context data in response toperformance of a task. In some examples, updating context data in thismanner includes updating one or more histograms for the task performed.

Generally, the second stage 1220 performs parameter-specific modelingbased on context data of the electronic device. In some examples,performing parameter-specific modeling includes determiningprobabilities (e.g., parameter probabilities) for a set of parametersthat indicate the likelihood a user selects a particular value for eachparameter of the set of parameters given a task (e.g., tasks previouslyperformed by the electronic device). Parameter probabilities mayindicate a likelihood that a user selects a particular value for asingle parameter (and no other values) and/or may indicate a likelihoodthat a user selects particular values for multiple (e.g., a combination)of parameters.

For example, during operation, second stage 1220 provides a set of tasksbased on the context data. In some examples, to provide the set oftasks, the second stage 1220 identifies a plurality of tasks and ranksthe tasks according to their respective task probabilities. In someexamples, the second stage 1220 identifies one or more tasks previouslyperformed by the electronic device. The second stage 1220 may omit typesof tasks that are determined to occur at a frequency exceeding afrequency threshold in some examples.

Thereafter, the second stage 1220 determines which of the identifiedtasks are associated with the N (e.g., N=10) highest respective taskprobabilities (as determined by first stage 1210) and provides the Ntasks associated with the N highest ranking task probabilities as theset of tasks. In some examples, determining which of the identifiedtasks are associated with the N highest task probabilities includesdetermining which tasks are associated with the N highest taskprobabilities given any context of the electronic device. In otherexamples, determining which of the identified tasks are associated withthe N highest task probabilities includes determining which tasks areassociated with the N highest task probabilities for a current contextof the electronic device.

In some examples, once second stage 1220 has identified a set of tasks,second stage 1220 determines parameter probabilities for each task ofthe set of tasks based on the context data. In some examples, secondstage 1220 determines parameter probabilities using a subset of thecontext data of the electronic device. As an example, the second stage1220 may determine parameter probabilities using context data receivedwithin a threshold amount of time (e.g., prior 30 days). As anotherexample, second stage 1220 may determine parameter probabilities for agiven task using context data corresponding to the most recent N (e.g.,N=100) instances in which each task of the set of tasks was performed.For instance, in an example in which second stage 1220 determinesparameter probabilities for a task directed to sending a text message,the second stage 1220 determines parameter probabilities for the taskusing context data corresponding to the last N instances in which theelectronic device sent a text message.

In some examples, determining parameter probabilities includesgenerating and/or updating one or more histograms based on the context,for instance, in real-time. Second stage 1220 may, for instance,generate a respective set of histograms for each task indicatingprobabilities that a user selects a particular parameter value for aparameter given the task. In some examples, each histogram associatedwith a task corresponds to a single parameter. Thus, each histogram mayrepresent a distribution of values for a parameter used to perform atask over time.

In some examples, the second stage 1220 determines parameterprobabilities based on a current context of the electronic device. Thismay, for instance, reduce computational complexity required to provideparameter probabilities. By way of example, during operation, the secondstage 1220 may determine that the electronic device is at a particularlocation. As a result, in determining parameter probabilities, thesecond stage 1220 may determine probabilities for parameter values thatwere previously used when the device was at the determined location.

In an example operation, the second stage 1220 may determine, based oncontext data, probabilities for one or more parameter values that may beused to send a text message. The second stage 1220 may, for instance,determine based on context data (e.g., prior use of the electronicdevice) that there is a 20% that the recipient of a text message is afirst contact and a 30% chance that the recipient of the text message isa second contact. The second stage 1220 further may determine that thereis a 40% chance that the text message includes a first payload (e.g.,string, image) and a 55% chance that the text message includes a secondpayload. In some examples, the second stage 1220 may further determineprobabilities for one or more combinations of parameters values. Thesecond stage 1220 may determine that there is a 20% chance that therecipient of the text message is the first contact and that the textmessage includes the first payload. The second stage 1220 may furtherdetermine that there is a 15% chance that the recipient of the textmessage is the first contact and that the text message includes thesecond payload. It will be appreciated that this example is not intendedto be limiting and second stage 1220 can determine probabilities for anynumber and/or combination of parameter values.

In some examples, second stage 1220 determines parameter probabilitiesperiodically (e.g., every 7.5 minutes) and/or in response to an event,such as a change in context of the electronic device. By way of example,probabilities may be determined in response to a change in location orenvironment of the electronic device (e.g., the electronic device beingmoved from a house to a car), a change in charge level of the battery ofthe electronic device, a change in configuration of the electronicdevice (e.g., installation or deletion of an application), and/or achange in connectivity of the electronic device (e.g., connecting ordisconnecting from a network).

In some examples, once task probabilities and parameter probabilitieshave been determined by the first stage 1210 and second stage 1220,respectively, third stage 1230, optionally, adjusts one or moreprobabilities. In some examples, third stage 1230 adjusts taskprobabilities. Task probabilities may be adjusted, for instance, basedon a type of the task associated with the task probability. Additionallyor alternatively, in some examples, third stage 1230 adjusts (e.g.,increases, decreases) parameter probabilities. As an example, parameterprobabilities associated with a relatively high number of parameters(e.g., 3 or more) may be increased and/or parameter probabilities oftasks having a relatively low number of parameters (e.g., 2 or less) maybe decreased. As another example, parameter probabilities for parametersof a first type may be increased and/or parameter probabilities forparameters of a second type not having the one or more particular typesof parameters specified may be decreased. In particular, parameterprobabilities for relatively discriminative parameter types, such asstrings, may be increased, and/or parameter probabilities for relativelynon-discriminative parameter types, such as Booleans, may be decreased.As yet another example, parameter probabilities for parameters havingrelatively high entropy (e.g., variation of values) as indicated bycontext data may be increased and/or parameter probabilities parametershaving relatively low entropy as indicated by context data may bedecreased.

Once probabilities have been adjusted, the third stage 1220 determines atask probability and parameter probability for each task. In someexamples, the third stage 1220 identifies a highest parameterprobability for each task. In other examples, the third stage 1220identifies several parameter probabilities for a task. In some examples,for the purposes of providing task suggestions, as set forth below, atask having multiple parameter probabilities may be treated as aseparate task for each parameter probability (e.g., a task with a firstset of parameter values is considered distinct from the task with asecond set of parameter values). As described, each parameterprobability may correspond to a single parameter value and/or maycorrespond to multiple parameter values.

In some examples, after probabilities have (optionally) been adjusted,the third stage 1230 determines, for each task, whether the tasksatisfies suggestion criteria based on a task probability and aparameter probability associated with the task.

In some examples, determining whether a task satisfies suggestioncriteria includes providing a joint probability for a task based on atask probability and a parameter probability for the task anddetermining whether the joint probability exceeds a probabilitythreshold. In some examples, a joint probability is provided bymultiplying a task probability and a parameter probability. In someexamples, if third stage 1230 determines that a joint probabilityexceeds the probability threshold, the third stage 1230 determines thatthe task associated with the joint probability satisfies suggestioncriteria.

In some examples, once third stage 1230 has determined (e.g.,identified) tasks that satisfy suggestion criteria, third stage 1230provides the tasks (and corresponding parameter values) associated withthe tasks as task suggestions. In some examples, third stage 1230provides all tasks satisfying the suggestion criteria as tasksuggestions. In other examples, third stage 1230 provides a subset ofthe tasks satisfying the suggestion criteria as task suggestions. Thethird stage 1230 may, for instance, provide the task associated with therespective highest joint probability as a task suggestion.

In turn, the electronic device determines, for each of the tasksuggestions, whether to display a suggestion affordance corresponding tothe task suggestion. In some examples, this includes determining whetherthe task suggestion satisfies first suggestion criteria and/or secondsuggestion criteria. In some examples, determining whether a tasksuggestion satisfies first suggestion criteria and/or second suggestioncriteria includes determining whether a joint probability associatedwith the task suggestion satisfies first and second display thresholds,respectively.

If, for instance, a joint probability for a task suggestion satisfiesthe first display threshold, a suggestion affordance corresponding tothe task suggestion is displayed in a first user interface (e.g., searchscreen interface 866 of FIG. 8N). If a joint probability correspondingto a task suggestion satisfies a second display threshold, a suggestionaffordance corresponding to the task suggestion is additionally oralternatively be displayed in a second user interface (e.g., lock screeninterface 810 of FIG. 8B). In some examples, the first display thresholdis the same as the probability threshold. In some examples, the seconddisplay threshold is greater than the first display threshold.

If a user subsequently selects a suggestion affordance, the electronicdevice selectively performs a task in response to selection of thesuggestion affordance, as described with reference to FIGS. 8A-8AF. Ifthe task is a background task (e.g., a task that does not require userconfirmation), the electronic device performs the task, as described. Ifthe task not a background task (e.g., the task requires userconfirmation and/or additional user input prior to task performance),the electronic device displays an interface requesting confirmationand/or additional input from the user. In some examples, a user mayconfirm performance of a task by selecting a confirmation affordance ofthe confirmation interface.

In some examples, display of suggestion affordances may be modified inresponse to a change in context of the electronic device (e.g., changein location of electronic device, user connects device to or disconnectsdevice from headphones). By way of example, in response to a change incontext, the electronic device may cease display of one or moredisplayed suggestion affordances, display one or more new suggestionaffordances, and/or display suggestion affordances in a new order.Modifying display of suggestion affordances in this manner may includedetermining a new set of suggestions using the current context of theelectronic device (e.g., in response to detecting a change in thecontext of the electronic device) and displaying one or more suggestionaffordances for those task suggestions satisfying suggestion criteriaand/or display criteria, as described (recall that in some examples,only a top scoring task suggestion is used for display of a suggestionaffordance). Modifying display of suggestion affordances may furtherinclude ceasing display of suggestion affordances for task suggestionsnot satisfying the suggestion criteria and/or the display criteria inaccordance with the context. In some examples, suggestion affordancesare displayed in an order corresponding to context of the electronicdevice, and/or a ranking of respective joint probabilities associatedwith the suggestion affordances. Accordingly, a change in context of theelectronic device may cause the electronic device to change an order inwhich suggestion affordances are displayed.

In some examples, determining whether a task satisfies suggestioncriteria further includes determining whether heuristic criteria havebeen met. For example, the third stage 1230 (or any other stage of thetask suggestion system 1200) may determine whether one or more sets ofpredetermined conditions have been met. If so, the third stage 1230provides a task suggestion for a task corresponding to each of the setsof predetermined conditions that have been met (e.g., heuristic tasksuggestion). By way of example, the electronic device may determine,based on a location of a user and a calendar of a user, that the user isgoing to be late to a meeting (e.g., the user will not be able to arriveon time). Accordingly, the electronic device may provide a heuristictask suggestion for the user to send a text message to the organizer ofthe meeting that the user will be late. The electronic device may inturn display a suggestion affordance corresponding to the heuristic tasksuggestion.

In some examples, task suggestions provided in this manner have a jointprobability of 100%, such that the task suggestions always satisfythresholds for display. In some examples, task suggestions provided inthis manner may have a joint probability of less than 100% if a user hasfailed to select a same type of task suggestion previously displayed bythe electronic device. Thus, joint probabilities of task suggestionsprovided in this manner may increase or decrease (e.g., decay) accordingto user behavior.

In some examples, suggestion affordances for heuristic task suggestionsare displayed in combination with suggestion affordances for tasksuggestions. In other examples, suggestion affordances for heuristictask suggestions are not displayed in combination with suggestionaffordances for task suggestions. For instance, in some examples,display of a suggestion affordance for a heuristic task suggestionoverrides (e.g., precludes) display of a suggestion affordance for atask suggestion.

In some examples, only a single set of predetermined conditions may bemet at a given time such that only a single heuristic task suggestion isprovided at any given time. Because, in some examples, heuristic tasksuggestions are provided based on a set of conditions (e.g., set ofhard-coded rules) in addition to context data, heuristic tasksuggestions may allow the electronic device to provide task suggestionsfor tasks not previously provided by the electronic device.

The following table sets forth various sets of exemplary predeterminedconditions that may be used to provide heuristic task suggestions. Itwill be appreciated that the sets are not intended to be limiting.Additionally, the table sets forth conditions that cause the electronicdevice to cease display of a suggestion affordance corresponding to aheuristic task suggestion. In some examples, the electronic deviceceases display of the suggestion affordance in response to all of theconditions being met. In some examples, the electronic device ceasesdisplay of the suggestion affordance in response to any number of theconditions being met.

Conditions for Suggestion Suggested Task Condition(s) to Withdraw Movieticket added to Enable a do not disturb Do not disturb mode is digitalwallet on device mode on the electronic enabled; user does not and/oruser is located at device (the suggestion select the affordance withintheater affordance may be a predetermined amount of displayed apredetermined time; the user has ignored amount of time before the sameor similar suggestions event) a threshold number of times User calendarindicates that Initiate call or send User has contacted the user appearsto be at risk of predetermined message to relevant contact (e.g., call,being late to an event relevant contact (e.g., message); user hasignored meeting organizer); a same or similar suggestions message mayoptionally a threshold number of indicate an estimated time times; theuser is at the of arrival for the user location of the event User missescall from a Call contact corresponding User has contacted the contact ofa particular type to missed call. contact; user has ignored (e.g.,contact frequently same or similar suggestions called) a thresholdnumber of times; the user is at the location of the event User calendarindicates that Reserve ride-booking for User is determined to be theuser has an upcoming user using the location of traveling todestination; event at a particular the user as a pickup user hascontacted ride- address, and the user has location and specified bookingservice (e.g., previously used a ride- address as the destinationdriver) booking application (e.g., Lyft) Current day is the birthdayInitiate call or send User has contacted the of a user contactpredetermined message to contact; user has ignored relevant contact sameor similar suggestions a threshold number of times; window has elapsed(e.g., date has changed) User calendar indicates that Open Calendarapplication user has ignored same or the user has an upcoming similarsuggestions a event and the description threshold number of times; ofthe event in the calendar window has elapsed (e.g., includes at least athreshold date has changed) amount of information (e.g., address, phonenumber, notes, etc.) User as an upcoming flight Reserve ride-booking forUser books ride; user (e.g., as indicated by user using the location ofcontacts ride-booking calendar application, the user as a pickupservice; user is determined traveling application, location and therelevant to be traveling to airport electronic passport airport as thedestination application) URL is copied by user Open URL in browser Useraccesses URL; user using copy function (e.g., pastes URL into browser;onto device clipboard) user has copied other content User calendarindicates Call telephone number in User initiates phone call; user hasan upcoming calendar entry event time has passed; user meeting, thecalendar entry has ignored same or similar includes a telephonesuggestions a threshold number for calling into the number of timesmeeting, and/or the user is not located at a specified location of themeeting User calendar indicates Generate alarm a User sets alarm forearlier user has unusually early predetermined amount of time thannormal; user has meeting (e.g., scheduled time prior to event. ignoredsame or similar time is earlier than normal suggestions a thresholdevents for user) number of times Potential event detected in Generatecalendar entry for Predetermined amount of messaging applicationdetected event time has elapsed after (e.g., using natural- eventdetected language processing) User calendar indicates Enable a do notdisturb User calls contact user has an event and/or mode on theelectronic associated with event; user is located at a location device(the suggestion event time has passed; user associated with the eventaffordance may be has ignored same or similar displayed a predeterminedsuggestions a threshold amount of time before the number of times event)Event is determined to be Enable a do not disturb Do not disturb mode isat an event of one or more mode on the electronic enabled; user ignorespredetermined types (e.g., device (the suggestion suggestion affordancefor a movie, meal, meeting) affordance may be predetermined amount ofdisplayed a predetermined time; user has ignored amount of time beforethe same or similar suggestions event) a threshold number of times;event time passes Predetermined (e.g., Enable a do not disturb Do notdisturb mode is favorite) contact of user is mode on the electronicenabled; user ignores attending event of user device (the suggestionsuggestion affordance for a affordance may be predetermined amount ofdisplayed a predetermined time; user has ignored amount of time beforethe same or similar suggestions event) a threshold number of times;event time passes Telephone number is Call phone number User calledtelephone copied by user using copy number; use pasted function (e.g.,onto device telephone number into clipboard) phone application, user hascopied other content User is currently at a gym Start workout User hasstarts other location and previously has workout; user has ignored beenat the gym location same or similar suggestions and started a workout aa threshold number of threshold number of times times (may representafter predetermined amount of time (e.g., 10 days)); A user has beenpaired Call driver User is determined to be in with a driver on a ride-car (e.g., traveling to booking application destination) User calendarindicates the Download media (e.g., User downloads media; user has anupcoming music, videos) to device user has ignored same or flight foroffline access similar suggestions a threshold number of times Usercalendar indicates Open attachment user has ignored same or entry forupcoming event similar suggestions a includes an attachment thresholdnumber of times User is at a particular Present playlist for User doesnot have location and previously has playback required subscription;played music at the headphones not connected; location a threshold userplays music; user has number of times; ignored same or similaroptionally headphones are suggestions a threshold connected to devicenumber of times (may represent after predetermined amount of time (e.g.,10 days))

FIG. 13 illustrates method 1300 for providing suggestions, according tovarious examples. Method 1300 is performed, for example, using one ormore electronic devices implementing a task suggestion system, such asthe task suggestion system 1200 of FIG. 12. In some examples, method1300 is performed using a client-server system (e.g., system 100), andthe blocks of method 1300 are divided up in any manner between theserver (e.g., DA server 106) and a client device. In other examples, theblocks of method 1300 are divided up between the server and multipleclient devices (e.g., a mobile phone and a smart watch). Thus, whileportions of method 1300 are described herein as being performed byparticular devices of a client-server system, it will be appreciatedthat method 1300 is not so limited. In other examples, method 1300 isperformed using only a client device (e.g., user device 104) or onlymultiple client devices. In method 1300, some blocks are, optionally,combined, the order of some blocks is, optionally, changed, and someblocks are, optionally, omitted. In some examples, additional steps maybe performed in combination with the method 1300.

As described below, selectively providing suggestion affordancesassociated with tasks, as described herein, allows a user to efficientlyand conveniently perform tasks relevant to the user on the electronicdevice. By way of example, suggestion affordances displayed by theelectronic device can correspond to tasks identified based on contextdata of the electronic device, such as context data indicative of prioruse of the electronic device by the user. Thus, selectively providingsuggestions in this manner decreases the number of inputs and amount oftime needed for the user to operate the electronic device (e.g., byhelping the user to provide proper inputs and reducing user mistakeswhen operating/interacting with the device), which, additionally,reduces power usage and improves battery life of the device.

In some examples, the electronic device includes one or more of akeyboard, mouse, microphone, display, and touch-sensitive surface. Insome examples, the display is a touch-sensitive display. In otherexamples, the display is not a touch-sensitive display.

At block 1305, the electronic device (e.g., device 104, 200, 400, 600,or another device implementing the task suggestion system 1200) receivescontext data associated with the electronic device. In some examples,receiving the context data includes determining a context of theelectronic device while performing the task (e.g., determine a locationof the device, whether the device is connected to WiFi network, etc.).In some examples, context data is indicative of a state of theelectronic device given one or more conditions. In some examples,context data is indicative of various contextual aspects of theelectronic device when each of a plurality of tasks was performed. Insome examples, context data indicates a location of context dataindicates a location of the electronic device, whether the device isconnected to a network (e.g., WiFi network), and if so, a name (e.g.,SSID) of the network, a time and/or day at which the task was performed,and whether headphones were connected. In some examples, determining acontext of the electronic device includes determining a location of theelectronic device, determining whether the electronic device isconnected to a network, determining a time of day, or any combinationthereof. In some examples, if a task has been previously presented tothe user as a suggested task (e.g., using a suggestion affordance), thecontext data indicates the manner in which the user responded to thesuggestion (e.g., whether the user interacted with the suggestion,deleted the suggestion, ignored the suggestion, etc.).

In some examples, each type of context data is assigned a scoreaccording to a respective weight (e.g., using dot multiplication). Insome examples, the respective magnitudes of weights utilized in thismanner are determined by a server using anonymized, aggregated data suchthat data is utilized in a privacy preserving manner.

In some examples, context data is obtained from applications during useof the electronic device, for instance, using a number of data donationmechanisms. In some examples, context data is obtained from applicationsusing an API call which causes an application to indicate what the userwas doing at the time of the API call (e.g., if user is in a “notes”app, call returns an ID of the note and/or a name of the note). In someexamples, receiving context data includes receiving a data structure(e.g., standardized intent object, third-party application intentobject) corresponding to the task and one or more parameters associatedwith the task. In some examples, context data is obtained fromapplications using an API call which causes an application to donate astandardized data structure indicating a task performed by theapplication. In some examples, the data structure is an intent object.In some examples, context data is obtained from applications using anapplication-specific (e.g., third-party application) data structureindicating a task performed by the application. In some examples, thethird-party data structure further indicates which parameters of a taskmay be predicted together and/or whether a task is a background task(e.g., a task that does not require additional input prior toperformance of the task). In some examples, applications donate contextdata each time a user performs a task. In some examples, applicationsselectively donate context data, for instance, based on context of theelectronic device (e.g., an application may forgo providing context dataif a battery charge level of the device is below a threshold).

At block 1310, the electronic device determines, based on the contextdata, a task probability for a task. In some examples, using contextdata, the electronic device employs a multi-stage model to providesuggestions. In some examples, at the first stage (1210) of the model,the electronic device determines a probability for each of a pluralityof tasks indicating the likelihood that the user performs the task givenparticular context. In some examples, determining a task probability fora task includes generating, for each of a plurality of types of context,a histogram corresponding to the task based on the context data. In someexamples, identifying task probabilities includes providing (e.g.,generating) one or more histograms using the data provided byapplications during use of the electronic device. In some examples, thehistograms provided in this manner indicate patterns of user behavior.By way of example, each of the histograms may indicate a probabilitythat a user takes a particular action given a particular context (e.g.,a user selects a particular music app at an 80% rate when connecting toa particular WiFi network)). In some examples, the task probability isparameter-independent. That is, in some examples, the electronic devicedetermines the task probability using context data associated with tasksirrespective of the parameters used to perform the tasks. In someexamples, the task probability determined in this manner areparameter-specific.

At block 1315, the electronic device determines, based on the contextdata, a parameter probability for a parameter, wherein the parameter isassociated with the task. In some examples, at the second stage (1220)of the model, the electronic device determines a probability (e.g.,conditional probability) for each a plurality of tasks indicating alikelihood that a user uses particular parameters for each task. In someexamples, determining, based on the context data, a parameterprobability for a parameter includes determining a current context ofthe electronic device and determining the parameter probability based onthe current context of the electronic device (e.g., determining contextof the electronic device and determining the parameter probability inaccordance with the context of the electronic device (e.g., determine alocation of the electronic device and determine the parameterprobability with respect to the determined location)). In some examples,the electronic device maintains a list of the most recent N number(e.g., 100) of tasks for each task type. The electronic device may, forinstance, track which parameters were previously used to perform each ofthe immediately previous N tasks. In some examples, the electronicdevice tracks only particular types of tasks (e.g., does not trackeasily accessible functions so as to ensure that suggestions ultimatelyprovided by the electronic device are relatively highly discriminativeand/or accelerating). In some examples, the electronic device identifiesa subset of the plurality of tasks evaluated at the first stage (1210),and determines probabilities only for tasks of the subset of tasks. Insome examples, the subset identified by the electronic device includestasks associated with the highest probabilities as determined at thefirst stage. In some examples, the electronic device computesconditional probabilities using only currently relevant context data(i.e., for context signals currently satisfied by context of theelectronic device (e.g., current location of the device and no otherlocations). In this manner, the computational demands required toimplement the second stage of the model are reduced—only highly scoringtasks from the first stage are considered, and only for contextualsignals that currently apply. Accordingly, usage of the device may bemore efficient, thereby reducing the amount of time and power requiredto provide task suggestions. In some examples, the electronic devicedetermines probabilities in this manner periodically. In some examples,the electronic device determines probabilities in this manner inresponse to particular events (e.g., deletion of an application on theelectronic device).

Determining probabilities (e.g., task probabilities, parameterprobabilities) based on context of the electronic device ensures thattask suggestions provided by the electronic device, as described herein,are provided based on previous usage of the electronic device by a user.This in turn ensures that the user is provided with salient tasksuggestions that correspond to typical usage of the electronic deviceand, as a result, provided with suggestions that have a relatively highlikelihood of accelerating user behavior. Thus, providing suggestions inthis manner decreases the number of inputs and amount of time needed forthe user to operate the electronic device (e.g., by helping the user toprovide proper inputs and reducing user mistakes whenoperating/interacting with the device), which, additionally, reducespower usage and improves battery life of the device.

At block 1320, the electronic device determines, based on the taskprobability and the parameter probability, whether the task satisfiessuggestion criteria. In some examples, at the third stage (1230) of themodel, the electronic device determines whether any of the identifiedtasks, given the context data and current context of the electronicdevice, satisfy a probabilistic threshold such that the electronicdevice should provide one or more of the tasks as a suggestion. In someexamples, if more than one task satisfies the threshold, the electronicdevice selects only the highest scoring task. In some examples, tasksare scored using each of the probabilities of the first and secondstages. In some examples, determining probabilities in this mannerincludes multiplying the probabilities. By way of example, theelectronic device may multiply the probability for a task (i.e., asdetermined using the first stage of the model) with each of theprobabilities for the task given respective parameters or combinationsof parameters (i.e., as determined using the second stage of the model.In some examples, additional scoring adjustments are implemented toadjust probabilities. Such adjustments are based on a number ofparameters (e.g., a higher number of parameters results in a higherscore), parameter types (e.g., more discriminative parameters, such as astring, as opposed to a Boolean, result in a higher score), andparameter entropy over the course of event history as indicated by thecontext data (e.g., higher entropy (i.e., higher variation) results in ahigher score). In some examples, different thresholds are used fordisplay on different interfaces of the electronic device. If a firstthreshold is satisfied, the electronic device may display a suggestionon a search user interface (866), and if a second threshold issatisfied, the electronic device may additionally or alternativelydisplay the suggestion on a locked screen interface (810).

At block 1325, in accordance with a determination that the tasksatisfies the suggestion criteria, the electronic device displays, on adisplay of the electronic device, a suggestion affordance correspondingto the task and the parameter. In some examples, if the probabilisticthreshold is satisfied, the electronic device displays one or moresuggestion affordances on the display. In some examples, suggestionaffordances can be displayed in a number of interfaces—lock screen UI(810), search screen UI (866), and/or digital assistant UI (1604). Insome examples, displaying the suggestion affordance corresponding to thetask and the parameter includes, in accordance with a determination thatthe task satisfies a first set of suggestion criteria (e.g., firstprobabilistic threshold), displaying the suggestion affordance on afirst user interface ((810), and in accordance with a determination thatthe task satisfies a second set of suggestion criteria (e.g., secondprobabilistic threshold), displaying the suggestion affordance on asecond user interface different from the first user interface (866,1604).

At block 1330, in accordance with a determination that the task does notsatisfy the suggestion criteria, the electronic device forgoesdisplaying the suggestion affordance.

In some examples, the task probability is a first task probability, thetask is a first task, the parameter probability is a first parameter,and the parameter is a first parameter. In some examples, the electronicdevice determines, based on the context data, a second task probabilityfor a second task, determines, based on the context data, a parameterprobability for a second parameter, the second parameter associated withthe second task, and determines, based on the second task probabilityand the second parameter probability, whether the second task satisfiesthe suggestion criteria.

In some examples, the selection affordance is a first selectionaffordance and determining whether the task satisfies suggestioncriteria includes determining whether heuristic criteria have beensatisfied. In some examples, in accordance with a determination that theheuristic criteria has been satisfied, the electronic device displays asecond selection affordance corresponding to another task. In someexamples, suggestions may be overridden according to one or moreheuristics. In some examples, each heuristic is a rule (e.g., scriptedand/or hard-coded rule) indicating a set of conditions that, whensatisfied, cause the electronic device to specifies a suggestioncorresponding to the conditions. In some examples, each heuristicsuggestion is considered to have a maximum probability (e.g., 100%) suchthat the heuristic is automatically considered as the best result,regardless of any other suggestions evaluated by the electronic device.In some examples, probabilities of heuristics decay if a user ispresented with a suggestion for the heuristic and the user declines toperform a task associated with the suggestion. In some examples,heuristics are configured such that no two set of conditions can besimultaneously satisfied. In some examples, heuristics are suggestionsof tasks that have not been performed by the electronic device and/orrely on context of the electronic device (e.g., text meeting organizerthat user will be late based on traffic conditions).

In some examples, after displaying the suggestion affordance, theelectronic device detects a first user input corresponding to aselection of the suggestion affordance, and in response to detecting thefirst user input, selectively performs the task. In some examples, thesuggestion affordance (806) is selected using a touch input (816), agesture, or a combination thereof. In some examples, the suggestionaffordance is selected using a voice input. In some examples, inresponse to selection of the suggestion affordance, the electronicdevice automatically performs the task, the electronic device launchesan application associated with the task, and/or a the electronic devicedisplays user interface by which the user can confirm performance of thetask. In some examples, selectively performing the task includes, inaccordance with a determination that the task is a task of a first type,performing the task, and in accordance with a determination that thetask is a task of a second type, displaying a confirmation interface(820) including a confirmation affordance (824).

The operations described above with reference to FIG. 13 are optionallyimplemented by components depicted in FIGS. 1-4, 6A-B, and 7A-C. Forexample, the operations of method 1900 may be implemented by any device(or component thereof) described herein, including but not limited to,devices 104, 200, 400, 600 and 1200. It would be clear to a personhaving ordinary skill in the art how other processes are implementedbased on the components depicted in FIGS. 1-4, 6A-B, and 7A-C.

FIG. 14 illustrates a sequence 1400 for performing a task, according tovarious examples. FIG. 14 is also used to illustrate one or more of theprocesses described below, including the method 1500 of FIG. 15. In someexamples, one or more operations of the sequence 1400 are, optionally,combined, the order of operations is, optionally, changed, and/or someoperations are, optionally, omitted. In some examples, additionaloperations may be performed in combination with the sequence 1400.Further, the use of “sequence” is not intended to require a particularorder of interactions unless otherwise indicated.

As described herein, operations of the sequence 1400 can be performedusing electronic device 1404 and server 1406. The electronic device 1404may be any of devices 104, 200, 400, and 600 (FIGS. 1, 2A, 4, and 6A-B),and the server 1406 may be DA server 106 (FIG. 1). It will beappreciated that in some examples, operations of the sequence 1400 maybe performed using one or more alternative or additional devices. By wayof example, one or more operations of the sequence 1400 described asbeing performed by the electronic device 1404 may be performed usingmultiple electronic devices.

Generally, operations of the process 1400 may be implemented to performa task, for instance, in response to a natural-language speech input. Asdescribed in further detail below, a natural-language speech input maybe provided to an electronic device, and in particular to a digitalassistant of an electronic device. In response, a determination is madeas to whether the natural-language speech input includes a predeterminedphrase (e.g., voice shortcut). The determination may be made by theelectronic device and/or another device. If the natural-language speechinput is determined to include a predetermined phrase, the electronicdevice performs a task associated with the predetermined phrase. If not,the natural-language speech input is processed using natural-languageprocessing to determine a task associated with the natural-languagespeech input, and the electronic device performs the task determinedusing natural-language processing.

At operation 1410, the electronic device 1404 receives (e.g., via amicrophone) a natural-language speech input. In some examples, theelectronic device 1404 receives a natural-language speech inputindicative of a request directed to the digital assistant of theelectronic device 1404. The natural-language speech input may, forinstance, include a voice trigger that may, for instance, activate thedigital assistant. In some examples, the natural-language speech inputcan include any request that can be directed to the digital assistant.By way of example, the natural-language input “Get me directions toStarbucks,” may request that the digital assistant of the electronicdevice 1404 provide driving directions from a location of the electronicdevice to a nearest Starbucks location.

In some examples, the natural-language speech input is received fromanother device, such as a device communicatively coupled to theelectronic device (e.g., smart watch). In some examples, thenatural-language speech input is provided over an ad-hoc connectionbetween the electronic device and the other device. In other examples,the natural-language speech input is provided over a multi-hop network,such as the Internet.

In some examples, the natural-language speech input includes apredetermined phrase (e.g., voice shortcut), such as those describedwith reference to FIG. 10A-10AF. As described, a predetermined phrasemay be associated with one or more tasks that, when provided to adigital assistant of the electronic device, cause the electronic deviceto perform one or more tasks associated with the phrase.

At operation 1415, the electronic device 1404 provides thenatural-language speech input to the server 1406. In some examples,providing the natural-language speech input to the server 1406 includesproviding a representation (e.g., text representation, spatialrepresentation, audio representation) of the natural-language speechinput to the server 1406. A text representation, for instance, may beprovided using a speech-to-text processing module, such as the STTprocessing module 730 in some examples.

At operation 1420, the server 1406 receives the natural-language speechinput from the electronic device 1404 and determines whether thenatural-language speech input satisfies voice shortcut criteria. In someexamples, determining whether the natural-language speech inputsatisfies voice shortcut criteria includes determining whether thenatural-language speech input, or a text representation of thenatural-language speech input, matches any of one or more predeterminedphrases (e.g., voice shortcuts) associated with a user of the electronicdevice. In some examples, determining whether the natural-languagespeech input matches predetermined phrases includes determining whetherthe natural-language speech input exactly matches one or morepredetermined phrases. In other examples, determining whether thenatural-language speech input matches predetermined phrases includesdetermining whether a similarity between the natural-language speechinput and each predetermined phrase exceeds a similarity threshold.

If the server 1406 determines that the natural-language speech inputsatisfies voice shortcut criteria (e.g., the server 1406 determines thenatural-language speech input matches a predetermined phrase), theserver 1406 identifies a task associated with the matching predeterminedphrase. In some examples, identifying a task in this manner includesdetermining values for one or more parameters of the task. By way ofexample, for a phrase “Coffee Time” corresponding to a task for orderinga coffee, the server 1406 may determine a size of the coffee, a type ofthe coffee, and/or a manner of payment for the transaction. Parametervalues may be specified by the user (e.g., upon associating the phrasewith the task), determined based on context of the electronic device(e.g., a location of the electronic device) and/or assigned defaultparameter values.

If the server 1406 determines that the natural-language speech inputdoes not satisfy voice shortcut criteria, the server 1406, optionally,processes the natural-language speech input (or a textual representationthereof) using a natural language processing module, such as the naturallanguage processing module 732. In some examples, the electronic device1404 provides an audio representation of the natural-language speechinput, and processing the natural-language speech input usingnatural-language speech processing to determine a task includesproviding one or more candidate text representations (e.g., textstrings) of the natural-language speech input, for instance, using theSTT processing module 730. Each of the candidate text representationsmay be associated with a speech recognition confidence score, and thecandidate text representations may be ranked accordingly. In otherexamples, the electronic device 1404 provides a text representation ofthe natural-language speech input, and the text representation isprovided as a candidate text representation, where n=1. Textrepresentations provided as candidate text representations in thismanner may be assigned a maximum speech recognition confidence score, orany other speech recognition confidence score.

Determining the task may further includes providing one or morecandidate intents based on the n-best (e.g., highest ranked) candidatetext representations, for instance, using the natural languageprocessing module 732. Each of the candidate intents may be associatedwith an intent confidence score, and the candidate intents may be rankedaccordingly. In some examples, multiple candidate intents are identifiedfor each candidate text representation. Further, in some examples, astructured query (partial or complete) is generated for each candidateintent. Thereafter, candidate tasks are determined based on the m-best(e.g., highest ranked) candidate intents, for instance, using the taskflow processing module 736. In some examples, the candidate tasks areidentified based on the structured query for each of the m-best (e.g.,highest ranked) candidate intents. By way of example, as described, thestructured queries may be implemented according to one or more taskflows, such as task flows 754, to determine tasks associated with thecandidate intents. A joint score may be assigned to each candidate task,for instance, based on confidence scores and/or context of theelectronic device, and the task with the highest score may be selectedas the task.

At operation 1425, the electronic device 1404 receives a task from theserver 1406. As described, the task may have been a task associated withone or more predetermined phrases of the user, or may have beenidentified using natural-language processing. In some examples, theelectronic device further receives one or more parameter values to beused in performing the received task.

At operation 1430, the electronic device performs the task, andoptionally, at operation 1435 provides an output (e.g., natural-languageoutput) indicating whether the task was performed successfully. Theoutput may be provided by the digital assistant of the electronic devicein some examples.

In some examples, performing the task includes causing another device toperform the task. The electronic device may, for instance, determinethat the task is better suited for performance on another device and/ordetermine that the task must be performed on another device (e.g., theelectronic device does not have a display and cannot perform a taskrequiring display of an interface). Accordingly, the electronic devicemay provide the task to another device and/or cause the other device toperform the task.

In some examples, performing the task includes causing a third-partyapplication to perform a task. By way of example, the voice shortcut“Close garage” may cause a third-party home automation application toclose a garage door. In some examples, the third-party applicationprovides a response indicating whether performance of the task wassuccessful.

In some examples, the output provided by the digital assistant of thethird-party device is based on a response provided by an application. Byway of example, a response provided by an application may include anatural-language expression, such as “The garage door was successfullyclosed.” The electronic device, and in particular the digital assistantof the electronic device, may receive the response and provide anatural-language output based on the natural-language expression of theresponse. The natural-language output may be an audio output in someexamples. For instance, the electronic device may provide anatural-language output reciting “Home Automation says ‘The garage doorwas successfully closed.’” Responses provided by applications in thismanner may indicate whether tasks were successfully performed and/orprovide other information to a user (e.g., current bus times in responseto a request for a bus schedule).

In some examples, performing the task provided by the server 1406includes performing multiple tasks. By way of example, performing a taskmay include causing a first application to perform a first task andcausing a second application to perform a second task different from thefirst task.

While description is made herein with respect to the natural-languagespeech input being provided to the server 1406 (operation 1415), in someexamples, the electronic device determines whether the natural-languagespeech input satisfies voice shortcut criteria in lieu of, or inparallel to, the server 1406.

FIG. 15 illustrates method 1500 for performing a task, according tovarious examples. Method 1500 is performed, for example, using one ormore electronic devices implementing a digital assistant. In someexamples, method 1500 is performed using a client-server system (e.g.,system 100), and the blocks of method 1500 are divided up in any mannerbetween the server (e.g., DA server 106) and a client device. In otherexamples, the blocks of method 1500 are divided up between the serverand multiple client devices (e.g., a mobile phone and a smart watch).Thus, while portions of method 1500 are described herein as beingperformed by particular devices of a client-server system, it will beappreciated that method 1500 is not so limited. In other examples,method 1500 is performed using only a client device (e.g., user device104) or only multiple client devices. In method 1500, some blocks are,optionally, combined, the order of some blocks is, optionally, changed,and some blocks are, optionally, omitted. In some examples, additionalsteps may be performed in combination with the method 1500.

As described below, performing tasks in response to natural-languagespeech inputs (e.g., voice shortcuts), as described herein, provides anintuitive and efficient approach for performing tasks on the electronicdevice. By way of example, one or more tasks may be performed inresponse to a natural-language speech input without any additional inputfrom the user. Accordingly, performing tasks in response tonatural-language speech inputs in this manner decreases the number ofinputs and amount of time needed for the user to operate the electronicdevice (e.g., by helping the user to provide proper inputs and reducinguser mistakes when operating/interacting with the device), which,additionally, reduces power usage and improves battery life of thedevice.

In some examples, the electronic device includes one or more of akeyboard, mouse, microphone, display, and touch-sensitive surface. Insome examples, the display is a touch-sensitive display. In otherexamples, the display is not a touch-sensitive display.

At block 1505, the electronic device receives a natural-language speechinput (e.g., spoken utterance, 1606) (1410). In some examples, receivinga natural-language speech input includes receiving a representation ofthe natural-language speech input from a second electronic device (e.g.,smart watch). In some examples, receiving a representation of thenatural-language speech input from a second electronic device includesreceiving the representation of the natural-language speech input over amulti-hop network. In some examples, the representation is received froma remote device, for instance, over a WiFi connection and/or theInternet. In some examples, the natural-language speech input includes avoice trigger (e.g., “Hey Siri”).

At block 1510, the electronic device determines whether thenatural-language speech input satisfies voice shortcut criteria. In someexamples, the electronic device determines whether the natural-languagespeech input matches one or more voice shortcuts associated with a userof the electronic device. In some examples, determining whether a matchexists in this manner includes determining whether a match existslocally and/or remotely. For example, in some instances the electronicdevice determines whether a match exists. In another example, theelectronic device provides the natural-language speech input, or arepresentation thereof, to a backend server (1406) (1415), and thebackend server determines if a match exists (1420). In some examples,determining whether the natural-language speech input satisfies voiceshortcut criteria includes providing a representation (e.g., textualrepresentation, spatial representation, audio representation) of thenatural-language speech input to another electronic device (e.g.,backend server, such as a backend natural-language processing server)and receiving, from the another electronic device, at least one of avoice shortcut or a task (1425). In some examples, both the electronicdevice and the backend server determine if a match exists and theelectronic device evaluates both results to determine if a match exists.

At block 1515, in accordance with a determination that thenatural-language speech input satisfies the voice shortcut criteria(e.g., if the natural-language speech input matches a voice shortcut),the electronic device identifies a task associated with the voiceshortcut and performs the task associated with the voice shortcut (e.g.,either the electronic device or another device (e.g., backend server)determines a task associated with the voice shortcut) (1430). In someexamples, performing the task associated with the voice shortcutincludes causing a first application to perform a first task and causinga second application to perform a second task different than the firsttask. In some examples, if the electronic device determines that a matchexists between the natural-language speech input and a voice shortcut,the electronic device identifies a task associated with the voiceshortcut and performs the task. In some examples, a voice shortcut isassociated with a plurality of tasks (e.g., a sequence of tasks) and theelectronic device performs each of the plurality of tasks. In someexamples, performing the task associated with the voice shortcutincludes determining whether the task associated with the voice shortcutis a task of a first type; in accordance with a determination that thevoice shortcut is a task of the first type, performing the task usingthe electronic device; and in accordance with a determination that thevoice shortcut is a task of a second type different than the first type,causing the task to be performed using a third electronic device. Insome examples, the electronic device determines whether the task is atask of a first type by determining whether the task may be performed bythe electronic device or another device.

At block 1520, in accordance with a determination that thenatural-language speech input does not satisfy the voice shortcutcriteria (e.g., if the natural-language speech input does not match avoice shortcut), the electronic device identifies a task associated withthe natural-language speech input and performs the task associated withthe natural-language speech input (1430). In some examples, theelectronic device performs natural-language processing to determine anintent and/or task. In some examples, a backend server performsnatural-language processing and provides the task to the electronicdevice. In some examples, a task that is not a task of the first type isa task that is “better suited” for another device and/or cannot beperformed by the electronic device. By way of example, a user mayprovide the voice shortcut “Play Game of Thrones” to the phone, and thephone, in turn, cause a TV to perform the task for the voice shortcut.

Performing natural-language processing on a natural-language speechinput in the event that the speech input does not satisfy voice shortcutcriteria ensures that commands provided to the electronic device by auser are handled even if the speech input does not correspond to a voiceshortcut. In this manner, the electronic device may handle a broaderrange of commands and/or intents specified by a user. Accordingly,performing tasks in this manner decreases the number of inputs andamount of time needed for the user to operate the electronic device(e.g., by helping the user to provide proper inputs and reducing usermistakes when operating/interacting with the device), which,additionally, reduces power usage and improves battery life of thedevice.

In some examples, the electronic device provides a natural-languageoutput indicating whether the task was successful (1435) (1616, 1630,1662, 1676). In some examples, performing the task includes causing athird-party application to perform the task and providing the providingthe natural-language output includes receiving a response from athird-party application and generating the natural-language output basedon the response received from the third-party. In some examples, when atask is performed using a third-party application, the third-partyapplication provides a response indicating whether the task wassuccessful. In some examples, the response explicitly indicates that thetask was successfully performed or failed. In some examples, theresponse includes requested information (e.g., the task was to retrievea bus schedule in response to a request for the same) (1688) and thereturn of the requested information implicitly indicates that the taskwas successful. In some examples, the natural-language output is anaudio speech output. In some examples, the electronic device, and inparticular, the digital assistant of the electronic device, generates anatural-language input based on the response of the application andprovides the generated natural-language output to the user.

The operations described above with reference to FIG. 15 are optionallyimplemented by components depicted in FIGS. 1-4, 6A-B, and 7A-C. Forexample, the operations of method 1900 may be implemented by any device(or component thereof) described herein, including but not limited to,devices 104, 200, 400, 600 and 1400. It would be clear to a personhaving ordinary skill in the art how other processes are implementedbased on the components depicted in FIGS. 1-4, 6A-B, and 7A-C.

FIGS. 16A-16S illustrate exemplary user interfaces for performing a taskon an electronic device (e.g., device 104, device 122, device 200,device 600, or device 700), in accordance with some embodiments. Theuser interfaces in these figures are used to illustrate the processesdescribed below, including the processes in FIG. 17.

FIG. 16A illustrates an electronic device 1600 (e.g., device 104, device122, device 200, device 600, or device 700). In the non-limitingexemplary embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 16A-16S, electronic device1600 is a smartphone. In other embodiments, electronic device 1600 canbe a different type of electronic device, such as a wearable device(e.g., a smartwatch). In some examples, electronic device 1600 has adisplay 1601, one or more input devices (e.g., touchscreen of display1601, a button, a microphone), and a wireless communication radio. Insome examples, the electronic device 1600 includes a plurality ofcameras. In some examples, the electronic device includes only onecamera. In some examples, the electronic device includes one or morebiometric sensors (e.g., biometric sensor 1603) which, optionally,include a camera, such as an infrared camera, a thermographic camera, ora combination thereof.

In FIG. 16A, the electronic device 1600 displays, on display 1601, adigital assistant interface (e.g., conversational interface), such asthe digital assistant interface 1604. While displaying the digitalassistant interface 1604, the electronic device 1600 receives (e.g.,obtains, captures) a natural-language input 1606 (e.g., “Hey Siri, ordermy groceries.”). In some examples, the natural-language input 1606 is anatural-language speech input received, for instance, using an inputdevice of the electronic device (e.g., microphone). As shown in FIG.16A, in some examples in which the natural-language input 1606 is anatural-language speech input, the digital assistant interfaceoptionally includes a preview 1608 (e.g., live preview) of thenatural-language input 1606.

In some examples, in response to the natural-language input, theelectronic device 1600 performs a task. By way of example, as describedwith reference to FIG. 14, the electronic device 1600 may determinewhether the natural-language input matches a predetermined phrase, andif so, perform a task corresponding to the phrase. If the task does notcorresponding to the phrase, natural-language processing may be used todetermine a task associated with the natural-language input, and theelectronic device 1600 may perform the task.

In some examples, prior to performing the task, the electronic devicerequests confirmation of the task from a user. For instance, asillustrated in FIG. 16B, once the electronic device 1600 identifies atask corresponding to the natural-language input, the electronic device1600 can display a confirmation interface, such as the confirmationinterface 1610. The confirmation interface 1610 includes a confirmationaffordance 1612, a cancel affordance 1614, and an application affordance1616. The confirmation interface further may include content 1618associated with the task. In some examples, selection of the cancelaffordance 1614 causes the electronic device 1600 to cease display ofthe confirmation interface 1610 and/or forgo performing the identifiedtask. In some examples, selection of the application affordance 1616causes the electronic device 1600 to open an application associated withthe task. As described, opening the application in this manner may causethe application to be preloaded with one or more parameters associatedwith the task. Content 1618 may include information directed to thetask, such as one or more parameters to be used to perform the task. Asillustrated in FIG. 16B, for instance, content 1618 may specify that thetask is directed to ordering a set of grocery items included in thegroup “My Grocery List”, the number of items to be ordered, a deliveryaddress, and a time window in which the delivery is to be made.Optionally, confirmation interface 1610 includes an icon (e.g., image,GIF) associated with the application of the task to help a user morereadily identify the application performing the task.

In some examples, in response to selection of the confirmationaffordance 1612, for instance by user input 1620, the electronic device1600 performs the task. As illustrated in FIG. 16C, in some examples,while the electronic device is performing the task, the electronicdevice 1600, optionally, displays a progress indicator 1615, indicatingthat the task is being performed. In some examples, display of theprogress indicator 1615 replaces display of the confirmation affordance1612 and the cancel affordance 1614.

Once task has been performed, the electronic device 1600 provides anoutput indicating whether the task was performed successfully. In theexample of FIG. 16D, the task is performed successfully, and as aresult, the electronic device 1600 displays a success indicator 1617,indicating that the task was successfully performed. In some examples,display of the success indicator 1617 replaces display of the progressindicator 1615.

In the example of FIG. 16E, the task is not performed successfully, andas a result, the electronic device displays failure interface 1621. Thefailure interface 1621 includes a retry affordance 1622, a cancelaffordance 1624, and application affordances 1626, 1628. The failureinterface further includes content 1630. In some examples, selection ofthe retry affordance 1622 causes the electronic device 1600 to performthe task again. In some examples, selection of the cancel affordancecauses the electronic device 1600 to cease display of the failureinterface 1620. In some examples, selection of either the applicationaffordance 1626 or application affordance 1628 causes the electronicdevice 1600 to open an application associated with the task. Asdescribed, opening the application in this manner may cause theapplication to be preloaded with one or more parameters associated withthe task. Content 1630 may include information directed to the task,such as one or more parameters used to perform the task. In someexamples, content 1630 is the same content as content 1618. In someexamples, content 1630 is different than content 1618. Content 1630 may,for example, indicate that the electronic device failed to perform thetask successfully (e.g., “There was a problem. Please try again.”).

In some examples, performing a task may include causing an applicationto perform the task, and optionally, receive a response from theapplication indicating whether the task was performed successfully. Insome examples, as illustrated in FIGS. 16F-16L below, the responseprovided by an application includes a natural-language expression thatmay in turn be used by the electronic device 1600 to indicate whether atask was successfully performed and/or provide additional information,from the application, to a user.

With reference to FIG. 16F, the electronic device 1600 displays, ondisplay 1601, a digital assistant interface (e.g., conversationalinterface), such as the digital assistant interface 1654. Whiledisplaying the digital assistant interface 1654, the electronic device1600 receives (e.g., obtains, captures) a natural-language input 1656(e.g., “Hey Siri, coffee me.”). In some examples, the natural-languageinput is a natural-language speech input received, for instance, usingan input device of the electronic device (e.g., microphone). As shown inFIG. 16F, in some examples in which the natural-language input is anatural-language speech input, the digital assistant interfaceoptionally includes a preview 1658 (e.g., live preview) of thenatural-language input.

In response to the natural-language input 1656, the electronic device1600 performs a task, as described (recall that the electronic devicemay confirm performance of the task with a user in some examples). Forinstance, if the natural-language input corresponds to (e.g., includes)a predetermined phrase, the electronic device 1600 can perform a taskassociated with the phrase, or if the natural-language input does notcorrespond to a predetermined phrase, the electronic device 1600 canperform a task associated with the natural-language input as determinedby natural-language processing.

In some examples, once the task has been performed, the electronicdevice 1600 receives a response from an application used to perform thetask and, based on the response, provides an output indicating whetherthe task was performed successfully. In the example of FIG. 16G, thetask is performed successfully. Accordingly, the electronic device 1600displays success interface 1660. Success interface 1660 includes output1662, which in turn includes digital assistant response 1664 andapplication response 1666, and application affordance 1670. In someexamples, application response 1666 is at least a portion of a responseprovided by the application following performance of the task. In someexamples, application response 1666 includes content and/or one or morenatural-language expressions. As illustrated in FIG. 16G, for instance,application response 1666 includes natural-language expression 1668(e.g., “Your latte will be ready in 20 min.”) indicating that the taskwas performed successfully and/or providing information related to thetask. Content of application response, such as content 1670, may includeany type of content, such as images, videos, and/or interactive content(e.g., an interactive map). In this manner, an application may specifyadditional information related to the task. In some examples, digitalassistant response 1664 indicates whether a task was performedsuccessfully (e.g., “OK ordered.”). In some examples, the digitalassistant response 1664 may, for instance, be used to clarify for a userthat the application response 1666 includes information provided by theapplication (e.g., “The Coffee App says”). In some examples, selectionof the content 1670 causes the electronic device 1600 to open theapplication associated with the task. As described, opening theapplication in this manner may cause the application to be preloadedwith one or more parameters associated with the task.

In the example of FIG. 16H, the task is not performed successfully(e.g., the electronic device 1600 failed to perform the task).Accordingly, the electronic device displays failure interface 1674.Failure interface 1674 includes output 1676, which in turn includesdigital assistant response 1678 and application response 1680, andapplication affordance 1682. In some examples, application response 1680is at least a portion of a response provided by the applicationfollowing performance of the task. In some examples, applicationresponse 1680 includes content and/or one or more natural-languageexpressions. As illustrated in FIG. 16H, for instance, applicationresponse 1680 includes natural-language expression 1682 (e.g., “Yourcard balance is insufficient. Open the app to continue.”) indicatingthat the task was not performed successfully and/or further providingadditional information related to the task. In some examples, digitalassistant response 1664 indicates whether a task was performedsuccessfully (e.g., “Something went wrong.”). In some examples, thedigital assistant response 1664 may, for instance, be used to clarifyfor a user that the application response 1666 includes informationprovided by the application (e.g., “The Coffee App says”). In someexamples, selection of application affordance 1682 causes the electronicdevice 1600 to open the application associated with the task. Asdescribed, opening the application in this manner may cause theapplication to be preloaded with one or more parameters associated withthe task.

In some examples, providing responses received from applications in thismanner allows a digital assistant to provide communication between anapplication and a user without requiring the user to open theapplication. For instance, in some examples, a user may requestinformation from an electronic device that the user may otherwise haveto open an application to retrieve.

With reference to FIG. 16I for example, a user may provide anatural-language input to the electronic device 1600 requestinginformation pertaining to a bus schedule. In turn, the electronic device1600 may cause an application corresponding to the task to retrieve theinformation and return the information in a response, as illustrated inFIG. 16J. As described, the output provided by the electronic device1600 (e.g., output 1688) may include a digital assistant response and anapplication response, such as the digital assistant response 1690 andapplication response 1692.

In some examples, a user may exit from a digital assistant interfaceprior to a time at which the electronic device 1600 provides an outputcorresponding to a task. Accordingly, in some examples, outputs providedby the electronic device 1600 may be displayed on a lock screeninterface. With reference to FIGS. 16K-L, the electronic device 1600 maydisplay outputs corresponding to tasks on a lock screen interface whenthe electronic device 1600 is either in a locked state (FIG. 16K) or anunlocked state (FIG. 16L), respectively. As described, the electronicdevice 1600 may forgo displaying content when the electronic device 1600is in the locked state.

In some examples, the manner in which an electronic device displaysinterfaces, as described herein, depends on a type of the electronicdevice. In some examples, for instance, electronic device 1600 may beimplemented as a device with a relatively small display such thatinterfaces, such as digital assistant interface 1604 or digitalassistant interface 1654, may not be practical for display. Accordingly,in some examples, electronic device 1600 may display alternativeinterfaces to those previously described.

With reference to FIG. 16M, for instance, the electronic device 1600displays, on display 1601, a digital assistant interface (e.g.,conversational interface), such as the digital assistant interface1604A. While displaying the digital assistant interface 1604A, theelectronic device 1600 receives (e.g., obtains, captures) anatural-language input 1606A (e.g., “Hey Siri, coffee me.”). In someexamples, the natural-language input 1606A is a natural-language speechinput received, for instance, using an input device of the electronicdevice (e.g., microphone). As shown in FIG. 16M, in some examples inwhich the natural-language input 1608A is a natural-language speechinput, the digital assistant interface optionally includes a preview1608A (e.g., live preview) of the natural-language input 1606A.

In FIG. 16N, in response to the natural-language input 1606A, theelectronic device 1600 displays a confirmation interface 1610Arequesting confirmation of a task associated with the natural-languageinput 1606A. The confirmation interface 1610A includes a confirmationaffordance 1612A and a cancel affordance 1614A. The confirmationinterface further may include content 1618A associated with the task. Insome examples, selection of the cancel affordance 1614A causes theelectronic device 1600 to cease display of the confirmation interface1610A and/or forgo performing the identified task (recall that in someexamples performing a task may include causing another device to performthe task). Content 1618A may include information directed to the task,such as one or more parameters to be used to perform the task. Asillustrated in FIG. 16B, for instance, content 1618A may specify thatthe task is directed to ordering a large latte coffee from a place ofbusiness located on Homestead Rd.

In some examples, in response to selection of the confirmationaffordance 1612A, for instance by user input 1620A, the electronicdevice 1600 performs the task. As illustrated in FIG. 16O, in someexamples, while the electronic device 1600 is performing the task, theelectronic device 1600 displays a progress indicator 1614A, indicatingthat the task is being performed. In some examples, display of theprogress indicator 1615A replaces display of the confirmation affordance1612A and the cancel affordance 1614A.

Once task has been performed, the electronic device 1600 provides anoutput indicating whether the task was performed successfully. In theexample of FIG. 16P, the task is performed successfully, and as aresult, the electronic device 1600 displays a success indicator 1616A,indicating that the task was successfully performed. In some examples,display of the success indicator 1616A replaces display of the progressindicator 1615A.

In the example of FIG. 16Q, the task is not performed successfully, andas a result, the electronic device displays failure interface 1620A. Thefailure interface 1620A includes a retry affordance 1622 and a cancelaffordance 1624A. The failure interface further includes content 1630A.In some examples, selection of the retry affordance 1622A causes theelectronic device 1600 to perform the task again. In some examples,selection of the cancel affordance 1624A causes the electronic device1600 to cease display of the failure interface 1620A. Content 1630A mayinclude information directed to the task, such as one or more parametersused to perform the task. In some examples, content 1630A is the samecontent as content 1618A. In some examples, content 1630A is differentthan content 1618A. Content 1630A may, for example, indicate that theelectronic device failed to perform the task successfully (e.g., “Therewas an error. Please try again.”).

In the example depicted in FIG. 16R, the electronic device 1600 receivesa natural-language input (e.g., “Hey Siri, coffee me.”), successfullyperforms a task corresponding to the natural-language input, and, inresponse, displays success interface 1660A. Success interface 1660Aincludes output 1662A, which in turn includes digital assistant response1664A and application response 1666A. In some examples, applicationresponse 1666A is at least a portion of a response provided by theapplication following performance of the task. In some examples,application response 1666A includes content and/or one or morenatural-language expressions. As illustrated in FIG. 16R, for instance,application response 1666A includes natural-language expression 1668A(e.g., “Large latte ready in 20 min.”) indicating that the task wasperformed successfully and/or providing additional information relatedto the task. Content of the application response, such as content 1670A,may include any type of content, such as images, videos, and/orinteractive content (e.g., an interactive map). In this manner, anapplication may further specify additional information related to atask. In some examples, digital assistant response 1664A indicateswhether a task was performed successfully (e.g., “OK ordered.”). In someexamples, the digital assistant response 1664A may, for instance, beused to clarify for a user that the application response 1666A includesinformation provided by the application (e.g., “The Coffee App says”).

In the example of FIG. 16S, a task is not performed successfully (e.g.,the electronic device 1600 failed to perform the task). Accordingly, theelectronic device displays failure interface 1674A. Failure interface1674A includes output 1676A, which in turn includes digital assistantresponse 1678A and application response 1680A. In some examples,application response 1680A is at least a portion of a response providedby the application following performance of the task. In some examples,application response 1680A includes content and/or one or morenatural-language expressions. As illustrated in FIG. 16S, for instance,application response 1680A includes natural-language expression 1682A(e.g., “Continue on your phone.”) indicating that the task was notperformed successfully and/or further providing additional informationrelated to the task (e.g., that the current device is not capable ofopening the application that performed the task). In some examples,digital assistant response 1664A indicates whether a task was performedsuccessfully (e.g., “Hmm, something went wrong.”). In some examples, thedigital assistant response 1664A may, for instance, be used to clarifythat the application response 1666A includes information provided by theapplication (e.g., “The Coffee App says”).

FIG. 17 illustrates method 1700 for performing a task using a digitalassistant, according to various examples. Method 1700 is performed, forexample, using one or more electronic devices implementing the digitalassistant. In some examples, method 1700 is performed using aclient-server system (e.g., system 100), and the blocks of method 1700are divided up in any manner between the server (e.g., DA server 106)and a client device. In other examples, the blocks of method 1700 aredivided up between the server and multiple client devices (e.g., amobile phone and a smart watch). Thus, while portions of method 1700 aredescribed herein as being performed by particular devices of aclient-server system, it will be appreciated that method 1700 is not solimited. In other examples, method 1700 is performed using only a clientdevice (e.g., user device 104) or only multiple client devices. Inmethod 1700, some blocks are, optionally, combined, the order of someblocks is, optionally, changed, and some blocks are, optionally,omitted. In some examples, additional steps may be performed incombination with the method 1700.

Performing tasks and providing responses from applications as describedherein, allows the digital assistant perform tasks and provide taskfeedback to a user without a need for an application to be opened.Accordingly, a user can interact with an application without opening orotherwise directly accessing the application. As a result, the number ofinputs and amount of time needed for the user to operate the electronicdevice are reduced (e.g., by helping the user to provide proper inputsand reducing user mistakes when operating/interacting with the device),which, additionally, reduces power usage and improves battery life ofthe device.

In some examples, the electronic device includes one or more of akeyboard, mouse, microphone, display, and touch-sensitive surface. Insome examples, the display is a touch-sensitive display. In otherexamples, the display is not a touch-sensitive display.

At block 1705, the electronic device receives, with a digital assistant,a natural-language speech input (e.g., spoken utterance) (1606).

At block 1710, the electronic device determines a voice shortcutassociated with the natural-language speech input.

At block 1715, the electronic device determines a task corresponding tothe voice shortcut. In some examples, the task is a request forinformation from a third-party service. In some examples, the electronicdevice determines that the natural-language speech input is associatedwith a voice shortcut and determines a task associated with the voiceshortcut.

At block 1720, the electronic device causes an application (e.g.,first-party application, third-party application) to initiateperformance of the task. In some examples, causing an application (e.g.,first-party application, third-party application) to initiateperformance of the task includes displaying a task performanceanimation. In some examples, the task performance animation includesrotating a circle object (1615) to indicate performance of the task isoccurring. In some examples, causing an application (e.g., first-partyapplication, third-party application) to initiate performance of thetask includes prompting the user to confirm performance of the task. Insome examples, once a task has been determined, the electronic devicedisplays a confirmation interface (1610, 1610A) requesting that the userconfirm performance of the task. In some examples, the confirmationinterface includes an affordance (1612, 1612A) by which the user canconfirm and, optionally, further includes a cancel affordance (1614,1614A) by which the user can cause the electronic device to ceasedisplay of the confirmation interface and forgo performing the task.

At block 1725, the electronic device receives a response from theapplication, wherein the response is associated with the task. In someexamples, when a task is performed using an application, such as athird-party application, the application provides a response (1666,1680, 1692) indicating whether the task was successful. In someexamples, the response explicitly indicates that the task wassuccessfully performed or failed. In some examples, the responseincludes requested information (e.g., the task was to retrieve a busschedule in response to a request for the same) and the return of therequested information implicitly indicates that the task was successful.

In some examples, after receiving the response, the electronic devicedisplays an application user interface (1660) associated with theapplication. In some examples, after causing an application to perform atask, the electronic device displays information associated with theapplication, and optionally, the task. By way of example, for a task ofretrieving directions to a particular location, the electronic devicedisplays a map that, when selected, causes execution of the relevant mapapplication. In some examples, one or more aspects of the user interfaceis specified by the application. In some examples, the user interface isa string, graphic, animation, or a combination thereof. In someexamples, an application, such as a third-party application, providescontent for display in the application user interface (e.g., a graphicreciting “Thank you” in response to a successful transaction). In someexamples, the application user interface includes the output indicatingwhether the task was successfully performed. In some examples, theapplication user interface is displayed concurrently with the output.

At block 1730, the electronic device determines, based on the response,whether the task was successfully performed.

At block 1735, the electronic device provides an output indicatingwhether the task was successfully performed. In some examples, providingan output indicating whether the task was successfully performedincludes, in accordance with a determination that the task was performedsuccessfully, displaying an indication that the task was performedsuccessfully and, in accordance with a determination that the task wasnot performed successfully, displaying an indication that the task wasnot performed successfully. In some examples, the electronic devicedisplays a symbol (e.g., checkmark for success, “X” for failure)indicating whether the task was successfully performed. In someexamples, the electronic device displays a checkmark (1616) to indicatethat the task was performed successfully. In some examples, theelectronic device displays an “X” indicating that the task failed. Insome examples, the electronic device displays a message indicating thatthe task failed (e.g., “There was a problem. Please try again.”). Insome examples, the electronic device generates a natural-language outputbased on the response and provides (e.g., outputs, displays), with thedigital assistant, the natural-language output. In some examples,further in accordance with a determination that the task was notperformed successfully, the electronic device displays a failure userinterface (1620).

In some examples, providing an output includes generating anatural-language output (1662, 1676) based on the response andproviding, with the digital assistant, the natural-language output. Insome examples, providing (e.g., outputting, displaying) thenatural-language output includes providing an audio speech output. Insome examples, providing the natural-language output includes displayingthe natural-language output. In some examples, the natural-languageoutput includes a reference to the application. In some examples, thenatural-language output includes a name or nickname of an application.In some examples, the response includes a natural-language expressionand the natural-language output includes the third-party naturallanguage expression (e.g., 1666, “Okay, ordered. Starbucks says ‘Yourorder will be ready in 5 minutes). In some examples, the responseincludes a natural-language expression (1668, 1682) and thenatural-language output includes at least a portion of thenatural-language expression. In some examples, the natural-languageoutput indicates that the task was not performed successfully by theapplication (e.g., “Something went wrong. Starbucks says ‘You haveinsufficient funds.’”). In some examples, the natural-language outputindicates that the task was performed successfully by the application.

Providing outputs, as described herein, allows the digital assistant toprovide feedback and/or other information from an application, forinstance during the course of a dialog (e.g., conversational dialog)between a user and the digital assistant, in an intuitive and flexiblemanner. By way of example, the digital assistant may provide (e.g.,relay) natural-language expressions from an application to the user suchthat the user can interact with the application without opening orotherwise directly accessing the application. Accordingly, providingnatural-language outputs in this manner decreases the number of inputsand amount of time needed for the user to operate the electronic device(e.g., by helping the user to provide proper inputs and reducing usermistakes when operating/interacting with the device), which,additionally, reduces power usage and improves battery life of thedevice.

In some examples, the failure user interface includes a retry affordance(1622). In some examples, the electronic device detects a user inputcorresponding to a selection of the retry affordance and, in response todetecting the user input corresponding to a selection of the retryaffordance, causes the application to initiate performance of the task.

In some examples, the failure user interface includes a cancelaffordance (1624). In some examples, the electronic device detects auser input corresponding to a selection of the cancel affordance, and inresponse to the user input corresponding to a selection of the cancelaffordance, ceases to display of the failure user interface.

In some examples, the failure user interface includes an applicationlaunch affordance (1626, 1628). In some examples, the electronic devicedetects a user input corresponding to a selection of the applicationlaunch affordance and, in response to the user input corresponding to aselection of the application launch affordance, launches (e.g.,executes, opens) the application. In some examples, the user selects (1)the application launch affordance or (2) an icon associated with theapplication to launch the application.

In some examples, further in accordance with a determination that thetask was performed successfully, the electronic device displays a tasksuccess animation. In some examples, the task success animation includesa shape (e.g., square, circle) being “checked off” (1616).

The operations described above with reference to FIG. 17 are optionallyimplemented by components depicted in FIGS. 1-4, 6A-B, and 7A-C. Forexample, the operations of method 1900 may be implemented by any device(or component thereof) described herein, including but not limited to,devices 104, 200, 400, 600 and 1600. It would be clear to a personhaving ordinary skill in the art how other processes are implementedbased on the components depicted in FIGS. 1-4, 6A-B, and 7A-C.

As described with respect to FIG. 12, an electronic device may providesuggestions based on context of the electronic device. In someinstances, however, it may be desirable to provide task suggestionsusing other types of information as well (e.g., user-specificinformation). By way of example, information indicating a user'sprogress in a queue (e.g., TV show episode playlist) may be used incombination with context data to provide task suggestions, as describedin further detail below.

In an example operation, the electronic device may receive information(e.g., user-specific information) from an application (e.g., mediastreaming application), such as a set of media items (e.g., content suchas songs, videos, albums, playlists) identified by the application forthe user. The information may be received, for instance, in response toan API call provided to the application. In some examples, theapplication is a third-party application (e.g., Netflix). In someexamples, the application is a remote application, such as a remotemedia prediction service communicatively coupled to the electronicdevice over a network such as the Internet. The information may bereceived at any time prior to prediction of task suggestions.

In some examples, the set of media items includes media itemsrecommended for the user by the application. Items may be recommendedbased on prior media items accessed by the user. As an example, anapplication may recommend a current or next song in a playlist accessedby a user. In another example, an application may recommend itemsrelated to previously accessed media items, such as media items sharinga same category as the previously accessed media items. Categories mayinclude, for instance, genre (e.g., hip-hop), decade (e.g., 90's),activity (e.g., study, workout), mood (e.g., happy), holiday (e.g.,Christmas).

In some examples, the set of media items is provided as a list of mediaitems. In some examples, the set of media items is provided as a vector.In some examples, the set of media items is provided in combination withplayback data describing one or more media items of the set of mediaitems. The playback data can, optionally, specify one or more aspectsfor playback of the media items. As an example, the playback data canspecify a particular time in one or more of the media items (e.g., atime at which a user ceased playback of a media item). As anotherexample, the playback data can specify a language for playback and/orwhether subtitles are to be displayed. As yet another example, theplayback data can indicate a resolution and/or bitrate for playback ofthe media item.

While description is made herein with respect to the electronic devicereceiving a set of media items from an application, it will beappreciated that the electronic device can receive any number of sets ofmedia items from any number of applications. Sets of media itemsreceived in the manner described (e.g., in response to an API call) maybe received periodically and/or in response to an event. In someexamples, the electronic device requests one or more sets of media itemsprior to selectively providing task suggestions.

In some examples, once the electronic device has received the set ofmedia items, the electronic device determines whether to provide one ormore task suggestions based the set of media items and/or context dataof the electronic device, as described with reference to FIG. 12.

As an example, in addition to receiving the set of media items, theelectronic device receives context data associated with the electronicdevice, and based on the set of media items and context data, determinesone or more tasks. At least one of the one or more tasks may, forinstance, correspond to playback of a media item of the set of mediaitems. In some examples, one or more parameters of tasks correspondingto playback of a media item may be based on the playback data. By way ofexample, the task may correspond to playback of the media item at aparticular time.

Thereafter, the electronic device determines whether any of the one ormore tasks satisfy suggestion criteria, as described. For each of theone or more tasks satisfying the suggestion criteria, the electronicdevice provides a task suggestion and displays, on a display of theelectronic device, a suggestion affordance corresponding to the tasksuggestion, as described.

As another example, the electronic device determines a task andselectively modifies the task using the one or more media items. Forinstance, in addition to receiving the set of media items, theelectronic device receives context data and determines a task based onthe context data. If the task corresponds to playback of a media item,the task may be modified to include a media item of the set of mediaitems and/or a parameter of a media item of the plurality of mediaitems. In some examples, the task is modified before determining whetherthe task satisfies suggestion criteria. In some examples, the task ismodified after determining whether the task satisfies suggestioncriteria.

FIGS. 18A-18D illustrate exemplary user interfaces for providing mediaitem suggestion affordances on an electronic device (e.g., device 104,device 122, device 200, device 600, or device 700), in accordance withsome embodiments. The user interfaces in these figures are used toillustrate the processes described below, including the processes inFIG. 19.

FIG. 18A illustrates an electronic device 1800 (e.g., device 104, device122, device 200, device 600, or device 700). In the non-limitingexemplary embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 18A-18D, electronic device1800 is a smartphone. In other embodiments, electronic device 1800 canbe a different type of electronic device, such as a wearable device(e.g., a smartwatch). In some examples, electronic device 1800 has adisplay 1801, one or more input devices (e.g., touchscreen of display1801, a button, a microphone), and a wireless communication radio. Insome examples, the electronic device 1800 includes a plurality ofcameras. In some examples, the electronic device includes only onecamera. In some examples, the electronic device includes one or morebiometric sensors (e.g., biometric sensor 1803) which, optionally,include a camera, such as an infrared camera, a thermographic camera, ora combination thereof.

In FIG. 18A, the electronic device 1800 displays, on display 1801, alocked screen interface, such as the locked screen interface 1804, whilethe electronic device is in an unlocked state. The locked screeninterface 1804 includes a suggestion affordance 1806 and a notification1808. In some examples, selection of the selection affordance 1806causes the electronic device 1800 to selectively perform a taskassociated with the suggestion affordance, as described with respect toFIGS. 8A-8AF. Suggestion affordance 1806 corresponds to a task forplayback of a media item (e.g., Episode 3 of Season 2 of Silicon Valley)in a media playback application (e.g., TV app). In some examples,selection of the notification 1808 causes the electronic device to openan application associated with the notification.

In some examples, in response to selection of the suggestion affordance1806, for instance by user input 1814, the electronic device 1800performs the task. As illustrated in FIG. 16B, the electronic device1800 initiates playback of the media item associated with suggestionaffordance 1806 (e.g., Episode 3 of Season 2 of Silicon Valley).

In some examples, suggestion affordances may be displayed on a searchscreen and/or searchable using a searching function of the electronicdevice. In FIG. 18C, for example, the electronic device 1800 displays asearch interface 1820. While displaying the search interface 1820, inresponse to entry of a search string (e.g., “S”), the electronic device1800 returns search results, including suggestion affordances 1822,1828, 1832, contact results 1834, and mail results 1836. In someexamples, suggestion affordances are presented above all other results.Accordingly, suggestion affordances 1822, 1828, and 1832 are presentedabove contact results 1834 and mail results 1836 in the search interface1820.

In some examples, suggestion affordances corresponding to tasks forplayback of media items are displayed in a manner different than othersuggestion affordances. As illustrated in FIG. 18C, for instance, thesuggestion affordance 1822 includes media icon 1824 and playback glyph1826. In some examples, icon 1824 may be relatively large relative toicons of other suggestion affordances (e.g., icon 1830 of suggestionaffordance 1828, icon 1834 of suggestion affordance 1832). Icon 1824further may include an image associated with the media item, such as avideo frame. Playback glyph 1826 may indicate that suggestion affordance1822 corresponds to task corresponding to a media task category.

In some examples, in response to selection of the suggestion affordance1822, for instance by user input 1836, the electronic device 1800displays an expanded interface 1850 associated with suggestionaffordance 1822. In some examples, user input 1836 is a touch input of apredetermined type (e.g., touch input satisfying a threshold intensityor duration). With reference to FIG. 18D, the expanded interface 1850includes suggestion affordance 1838, which in some examples, correspondsto suggestion interface 1822. In some examples, suggestion affordance1838 includes an icon 1840 that corresponds to icon 1824 and a playbackglyph 1842 that corresponds to icon 1826. In some examples, icon 1840includes an image associated with the media item, such as a video frame.In some examples icons 1822 and 1840 include a same image. In someexamples, icon 1840 of suggestion affordance 1838 is larger than icon1824. In some examples, display of the expanded view interface 1850causes one or more portions of the display of the electronic device 1800to be blurred, darkened, and/or otherwise obscured.

FIG. 19 illustrates method 1900 for providing media item suggestions,according to various examples. Method 1900 is performed, for example,using one or more electronic devices implementing a digital assistant.In some examples, method 1900 is performed using a client-server system(e.g., system 100), and the blocks of method 1900 are divided up in anymanner between the server (e.g., DA server 106) and a client device. Inother examples, the blocks of method 1900 are divided up between theserver and multiple client devices (e.g., a mobile phone and a smartwatch). Thus, while portions of method 1900 are described herein asbeing performed by particular devices of a client-server system, it willbe appreciated that method 1900 is not so limited. In other examples,method 1900 is performed using only a client device (e.g., user device104) or only multiple client devices. In method 1900, some blocks are,optionally, combined, the order of some blocks is, optionally, changed,and some blocks are, optionally, omitted. In some examples, additionalsteps may be performed in combination with the method 1900.

As described below, selectively providing suggestion affordancescorresponding to tasks, as described herein, allows a user toefficiently and conveniently perform tasks relevant to the user on theelectronic device. By way of example, suggestion affordances displayedby the electronic device can correspond to tasks identified based onmedia consumption and/or determined media preferences of the user. Thus,selectively providing suggestions in this manner decreases the number ofinputs and amount of time needed for the user to operate the electronicdevice (e.g., by helping the user to provide proper inputs and reducinguser mistakes when operating/interacting with the device), which,additionally, reduces power usage and improves battery life of thedevice.

In some examples, the electronic device includes one or more of akeyboard, mouse, microphone, display, and touch-sensitive surface. Insome examples, the display is a touch-sensitive display. In otherexamples, the display is not a touch-sensitive display.

At block 1905, the electronic device receives a plurality of media itemsfrom an application. In some examples, the electronic device requeststhe plurality of media items from the application (e.g., third-partyapplication) using an API call. In some examples, in response to the APIcall, the application returns a list (e.g., vector) of upcoming mediaitems recommended by the application for the user. In some examples,media items received in this manner can include albums, songs, TV shows,episodes (or playlists of any combination thereof. In some examples,receiving a plurality of media items from an application includesreceiving a vector including the plurality of media items from theapplication. In some examples, each media item is a container thatincludes information about a respective media item or set of mediaitems. In some examples, receiving a plurality of media items from anapplication includes, while displaying another application differentfrom the application, receiving the plurality of media items. In someexamples, prior to receiving a plurality of media items from anapplication, the electronic device requests the plurality of media itemsfrom the application. In some examples, media items arerequested/received at the time suggestions are predicted. In someexamples, media items are requested/received when application is openedand/or closed by user. In some examples, the plurality of media itemsare received from a remote application (e.g., remote media predictionservice). In some examples, the plurality of media items is receivedprior to an event causing the electronic device to selectively provide aprediction.

At block 1910, the electronic device receives context data associatedwith the electronic device. In some examples, the electronic devicereceives context information of the electronic device. Contextinformation received in this manner can include location of theelectronic, time of day, day of week, etc.

At block 1915, the electronic device determines a task based on theplurality of media items and the context data. In some examples, thetask is a task for playback of a media item of the plurality of mediaitems. In some examples, the task specifies a particular playback time.In some examples, the task can specify that playback of a media item isinitiated at a particular point in the media item (e.g., 1:02). In someexamples, the electronic device generates a plurality of suggestions, asdescribed. If one or more the suggested tasks correspond to a media itemin the requested list, one or more tasks for playback of the respectivemedia items are provided.

Determining tasks (e.g., task probabilities, parameter probabilities)based on context of the electronic device and the plurality of mediaitems ensures that task suggestions provided by the electronic device,as described herein, are provided based not only on previous usage ofthe electronic device by a user, but also intuitive and relevantpredictions as to future behavior in the media domain. This in turnensures that the user is provided with salient task suggestions thathave a relatively high likelihood of accelerating user behavior. Thus,providing suggestions in this manner decreases the number of inputs andamount of time needed for the user to operate the electronic device(e.g., by helping the user to provide proper inputs and reducing usermistakes when operating/interacting with the device), which,additionally, reduces power usage and improves battery life of thedevice.

At block 1920, the electronic device determines whether the tasksatisfies suggestion criteria. In some examples, the electronic devicedetermines whether any of the identified tasks, given the context dataand current context of the electronic device, satisfy a probabilisticthreshold such that the electronic device should provide one or more ofthe tasks as a suggestion.

At block 1925, in accordance with a determination that the tasksatisfies the suggestion criteria, the electronic device displays, on adisplay of the electronic device, a suggestion affordance (1806)corresponding to the task.

At block 1930, in accordance with a determination that the task does notsatisfy the suggestion criteria, the electronic device forgoesdisplaying the suggestion affordance.

In some examples, the task is a first task and the suggestion affordanceis a first suggestion affordance. In some examples, the electronicdevice determines a second task based on the context data, determineswhether the second task satisfies suggestion criteria, in accordancewith a determination that the second task satisfies the suggestioncriteria, displays, on the display, a second suggestion affordancecorresponding to the second task, and in accordance with a determinationthat the second task does not satisfy the suggestion criteria, forgoesdisplaying the second suggestion affordance.

In some examples, the application is a first application and the task isassociated with the first application and the suggestion affordance isassociated with a second application different than the firstapplication. In some examples, when generating a suggestion of a taskfor a media item, the electronic device simulates a replica of theapplication for the suggestion affordance. In this manner, theelectronic device may display playback controls and/or a playlist forthe suggestion without overwriting currently playing items and/or queuesof the application. In some examples, if the user selects thesuggestion, the electronic device will initiate playback of theapplication using the suggested media item(s).

In some examples, a second electronic device determines, with theapplication (e.g., a remote media prediction service), one or more mediaitems previously played on the electronic device, and generates theplurality of media items based on the determined one or more mediaitems. In some examples, the electronic device determines one or moremedia items played back on any number of devices, for instance,associated with a same user. In this manner, media used to makesuggestions is consistent across all devices of the user. In someexamples, media items are received from a backend server communicativelycoupled to the electronic device. In some examples, generating theplurality of media items includes identifying a category of at least oneof the one or more media items previously played on the electronicdevice (e.g., genre, decade, activity, mood, holiday) and identifying amedia item associated with the identified category.

The operations described above with reference to FIG. 19 are optionallyimplemented by components depicted in FIGS. 1-4, 6A-B, and 7A-C. Forexample, the operations of method 1900 may be implemented by any device(or component thereof) described herein, including but not limited to,devices 104, 200, 400, 600 and 1800. It would be clear to a personhaving ordinary skill in the art how other processes are implementedbased on the components depicted in FIGS. 1-4, 6A-B, and 7A-C.

FIGS. 20A-20N illustrate exemplary user interfaces for providing voiceshortcuts on an electronic device (e.g., device 104, device 122, device200, device 600, or device 700), in accordance with some embodiments.The user interfaces in these figures are used to illustrate theprocesses described below, including the processes in FIGS. 11A-B.

Generally, user interfaces described with reference to FIGS. 20A-20N maybe employed such that a user can associate tasks with respectiveuser-specific phrases. These phrases may in turn be used to cause theelectronic device to perform the associated tasks.

FIG. 20A illustrates an electronic device 2000 (e.g., device 104, device122, device 200, device 600, or device 700). In the non-limitingexemplary embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 20A-20N, electronic device2000 is a smartphone. In other embodiments, electronic device 2000 canbe a different type of electronic device, such as a wearable device(e.g., a smartwatch). In some examples, electronic device 2000 has adisplay 2001, one or more input devices (e.g., touchscreen of display2001, a button, a microphone), and a wireless communication radio. Insome examples, the electronic device 2000 includes a plurality ofcameras. In some examples, the electronic device includes only onecamera. In some examples, the electronic device includes one or morebiometric sensors (e.g., biometric sensor 2003) which, optionally,include a camera, such as an infrared camera, a thermographic camera, ora combination thereof.

In FIG. 20A, the electronic device 2000 displays, on display 2001, asettings interface 2004. The settings interface 2004 includes acandidate task portion 2006 and additional tasks affordance 2014. Thecandidate task portion 2006 includes candidate task affordances 2008,2010, and 2012. In some examples, if one or more candidate taskaffordances are associated with a respective task, settings interface2004 includes a user shortcuts affordance 2005.

In some examples, while displaying the settings interface 2004, theelectronic device 2000 detects selection of the additional tasksaffordance 2014. As shown in FIG. 20A, the selection of the additionaltasks affordance 2014 is a tap gesture 2016A. In some examples, inresponse to selection of the shortcut affordance 2014, the electronicdevice 2000 displays (e.g., replaces display of the settings interface2004 with), on the display 2001, global task interface 2018, as shown inFIG. 20B.

Global task interface 2018 includes, for each of a plurality ofapplications, a respective set of candidate task affordances. By way ofexample, global task interface 2018 includes a set of candidate taskaffordances 2020 associated with an activity application, a set ofcandidate task affordances 2026 associated with a calendar application,and a set of candidate task affordances 2036 associated with a musicapplication. The set of candidate task affordances 2020 can, optionally,include a “Start Workout” candidate task affordance 2022 and a “ViewDaily Progress” candidate task affordance 2024. The set of candidatetask affordances 2026 can, optionally, include a “Send Lunch invitation”candidate task affordance 2028, a “Schedule Meeting” candidate taskaffordance 2030, and a “Clear Events for a Day” candidate taskaffordance 2032. The set of candidate task affordances 2036 can,optionally, include a “Play Workout Playlist” candidate task affordance2038 and a “Start R&B Radio” candidate task affordance 2040.

In some examples, each set of candidate task affordances displayed bythe electronic device 2000 may be a subset of all available candidatetask affordances for a respective application. Accordingly, the user mayselect an application task list affordance, such as application-specifictask list affordances 2034, 2042, to reveal one or more additionalcandidate task affordances for an application corresponding to theapplication task list affordance. For example, while displaying theglobal task interface 2018, the electronic device 2000 detects selectionof application task list affordance 2042. As shown in FIG. 20C, theselection of application task list affordance 2042 is a tap gesture2050.

In some examples, in response to selection of the application task listaffordance 2042, the electronic device 2000 displays (e.g., replacesdisplay of the global task interface 2018 with), on the display 2001,application task interface 2052 (for a respective application, e.g.,music), as shown in FIG. 20D. As shown, application task interface 2052includes a return affordance 2072, which when selected, causes theelectronic device 2000 to display the global task interface 2018, a setof candidate task affordances 2046 associated with the application ofthe global task interface 2018, and a set of candidate task affordances2048 associated with the application of the global task interface 2018.

In some examples, the set of candidate task affordances 2046 correspondsto candidate tasks suggested (e.g., generated), for instance, based oncontext of the electronic device. For example, the set of candidate taskaffordances 2046 can, optionally, include a “Play Workout Playlist”candidate task affordance 2054, a “Start R&B Radio” candidate taskaffordance 2056, and a “Play Road Trip Playlist” candidate taskaffordance 2058, each of which is suggested and/or ranked accordingly tocontext of the electronic device 2000.

In some examples, the set of candidate task affordances 2048 correspondsto candidate tasks for recently performed using the respectiveapplication. For example, the set of candidate task affordances 2048can, optionally, include a “Play Sleep Sounds” candidate task affordance2060, a “Start Jazz Radio” candidate task affordance 2061, a “PlayDinner Playlist” candidate task affordance 2063, a “Start Pop Radio”candidate task affordance 2065, and a “Play Dance Party Playlist”candidate task affordance 2067, each of which is suggested and/or rankedaccordingly to tasks recently performed using the music application,and, optionally, one or more other applications.

In some examples, a voice shortcut generation process may be initiatedusing an application interface, such as a third party applicationinterface. As illustrated in FIG. 20E, for instance, during use of anapplication, the application may display an application interface 2060including a candidate task suggestion affordance 2062. In some examples,in response to selection of candidate task suggestion affordance 2062,the electronic device initiates a voice shortcut generation process, asshown below in FIGS. 20F-20K.

For example, in response to selection of the candidate task suggestionaffordance 2062, the electronic device displays (e.g., replaces displayof the application interface 2060 with), on the display 2001, atask-specific interface. The task-specific interface is associated witha task of the selected candidate task affordance in some examples. Thetask may be a task available to the user and/or recently performed bythe user, for instance, using the application. By way of example, whiledisplaying the application interface 2060, the electronic device 2000detects selection of the candidate task affordance 2062. In someexamples, the selection is a tap gesture 2064 on the candidate taskaffordance 2062. As shown in FIG. 20F, in response to detecting tapgesture 2064, the electronic device 2000 displays the task-specificinterface 2066. The task-specific interface 2066 may be associated witha task of the candidate task affordance 2062 (e.g., Order large latte).

Task-specific interface 2066 includes task indicator 2068, applicationindicator 2070, candidate phrase 2072, and record affordance 2074. Insome examples, task indicator 2068 indicates a name and/or type of thetask. In some examples, task indicator 2068 includes a description ofthe task and/or indicates that a user may record a command or phrase tobe linked with the task. In some examples, application indicator 2070identifies an application corresponding to the task. The applicationindicator 2070 may, for instance, include a name of the applicationand/or an icon associated with the application. Candidate phrase 2072includes a suggested phrase that the user may elect to associate withthe task.

While displaying the task-specific interface 2066, the electronic device2000 detects selection of the record affordance 2074. As shown in FIG.20G, selection of the record affordance 2074 is a tap gesture 2076. Inresponse to selection of the record affordance 2074, the electronicdevice displays (e.g., replaces display of the task-specific interface2066 with), on the display 2001, a record interface 2078.

With reference to FIG. 20H, record interface 2078 includes cancelaffordance 2080, preview 2082, and stop affordance 2084. In someexamples, in response to selection of the cancel affordance 2080, theelectronic device ceases display of the record interface 2078 and,optionally, terminates the voice shortcut generation process, thereafterreturning operation to (e.g., displaying) the application.

In some examples, while displaying the record interface 2078, theelectronic device 2000 receives, using an audio input device (e.g.,microphone) of the electronic device 2000, a natural-language speechinput from a user. In some examples, while receiving thenatural-language speech input, the electronic device 2000 provides alive preview of the natural-language speech input, such as the livepreview 2082. As shown in FIG. 20H, the live preview 2082 is, in someexamples, a visual waveform indicative of one or more auditorycharacteristics of the natural-language speech input.

In some examples, while receiving the natural-language speech input, theelectronic device 2000 performs speech-to-text translation (e.g.,natural-language speech processing) on the natural-language speech inputto provide a candidate phrase 2086. Because the speech-to-texttranslation is performed while the natural-language speech input isreceived, the candidate phrase 2086 may be iteratively and/orcontinuously updated while the natural-language speech input isreceived.

In some examples, the electronic device 2000 ensures that the candidatephrase is different than one or more predetermined phrases (e.g., “call911”). By way of example, the electronic device 2000 determines whethera similarity between the candidate phrase and each of the one or morepredetermined phrases exceeds a similarity threshold. If the similaritythreshold is not met, the electronic device 2000 will notify the userthat the provided candidate phrase is not sufficient and/or notpermitted. The electronic device 2000 further may request that the userprovide another natural-language speech input.

While displaying the record interface 2078, the electronic device 2000detects selection of the stop affordance 2084. As shown in FIG. 20I,selection of the stop affordance 2084 is a tap gesture 2088. In responseto selection of the stop affordance 2084, the electronic device 2000displays (e.g., replaces display of the record interface 2078 with), onthe display 2001, a completion interface 2090, as shown in FIG. 20J.

The completion interface 2090 includes a completion affordance 2092,cancel affordance 2094, task indicator 2096, application indicator 2098,candidate phrase 2002A, and re-record affordance 2004A. In someexamples, in response to selection of the cancel affordance 2094, theelectronic device 2000 ceases display of the completion interface 2090and, optionally, terminates the voice shortcut generation process. Insome examples, task indicator 2096 indicates a name and/or type of thetask. In some examples, application indicator 2098 identifies theapplication corresponding to the task. The application indicator may,for instance, include a name of the application and/or an iconassociated with the application. Candidate phrase 2002A is a suggestedphrase that the user may elect to associate with the task.

In some examples, while displaying the completion interface 2090, theelectronic device 2000 detects selection of the completion affordance2092. As shown in FIG. 20J, selection of the completion affordance 2092is a tap gesture 2004A. In response to selection of the completionaffordance 2092, the electronic device 2000 associates the candidatephrase with the task of the candidate task affordance 2062. Byassociating the candidate phrase with the task in this manner, the usermay provide (e.g., speak) the candidate phrase to a digital assistant ofthe electronic device to cause the device to perform the task associatedwith the candidate phrase. Candidate phrases associated with respectivetasks may be referred to as voice shortcuts herein. In some examples,further in response to selection of the completion affordance 2092, theelectronic device 2000 displays (e.g., replaces display of thecompletion interface 2090 with), on the display 2001, the applicationinterface 2060, as shown in FIG. 20K. Because the candidate taskaffordance 2062 has been associated with a candidate phrase, thecandidate task affordance 2062 includes a phrase indicator 2006Aindicating the candidate phrase that has been associated with the taskfor the candidate task affordance 2062.

In some examples, a user may provide natural-language inputs using textinputs. The user may, for instance, enable one or more accessibilityfeatures that enables text entry in addition to, or in lieu of, speechinputs. In some examples, text inputs may be used to associate taskswith a particular phrase and/or, subsequently, to cause the electronicdevice to perform one or more tasks associated with the phrase.

By way of example, as described with respect to FIG. 20E, in response toselection of the candidate task suggestion affordance 2062, theelectronic device displays (e.g., replaces display of the applicationinterface 2060 with), on the display 2001, a task-specific interface. Asshown in FIG. 20L, in response to detecting a tap gesture (e.g., tapgesture 2064), the electronic device 2000 displays the task-specificinterface 2008A. The task-specific interface 2008A may be associatedwith a task of the candidate task affordance 2062 (e.g., Order largelatte).

Task-specific interface 2008A includes task indicator 2010A, applicationindicator 2012A, candidate phrase 2014A, and text entry affordance2016A. In some examples, task indicator 2010A indicates a name and/ortype of the task. In some examples, task indicator 2010A includes adescription of the task and/or indicates that a user may record acommand or phrase to be linked with the task. In some examples,application indicator 2012A identifies an application corresponding tothe task. The application indicator 2012A may, for instance, include aname of the application and/or an icon associated with the application.Candidate phrase 2014A includes a suggested phrase that the user mayelect to associate with the task.

While displaying the task-specific interface 2008A, the electronicdevice 2000 detects selection of the text entry affordance 2016A. Asshown in FIG. 20L, selection of the text entry affordance 2016A is a tapgesture 2018A. In contrast to selection of the record affordance 2074(FIG. 20F), the electronic device 2000, in response to selection of therecord affordance 2074, displays (e.g., replaces display of thetask-specific interface 2008A with), on the display 2001, a text entryinterface 2020A.

With reference to FIG. 20M, text entry interface 2020A includes cancelaffordance 2022A, preview 2024A, and completion affordance 2026A. Insome examples, in response to selection of the cancel affordance 2022A,the electronic device 2000 ceases display of the text entry interface2020A and, optionally, terminates the shortcut generation process,thereafter returning operation to (e.g., displaying) the application.

In some examples, while displaying the text entry interface 2020A, theelectronic device 2000 receives, using a text entry device (e.g.,keyboard, soft keyboard) of the electronic device 2000, anatural-language text input from a user. In some examples, whilereceiving the natural-language text input, the electronic device 2000provides a preview of the natural-language text input, such as thepreview 2024A, displaying text the user has entered at a given time.

In some examples, the electronic device 2000 ensures that the candidatephrase is different than one or more predetermined phrases (e.g., “call911”). By way of example, the electronic device 2000 determines whethera similarity between the phrase and each of the one or morepredetermined phrases exceeds a similarity threshold. If the similaritythreshold is not met, the electronic device 2000 will notify the userthat the provided candidate phrase is not sufficient and/or notpermitted. The electronic device 2000 further may request that the userprovide another natural-language text input.

While displaying the text entry interface 2020A, the electronic device2000 detects selection of the completion affordance 2026A. As shown inFIG. 20M, selection of the completion affordance 2026A is a tap gesture2028A. In response to selection of the completion affordance 2026A, theelectronic device 2000 displays (e.g., replaces display of the textentry interface 2020A with), on the display 2001, a completion interface2028A, as shown in FIG. 20N.

The completion interface 2028A includes a completion affordance 2030A,cancel affordance 2032A, task indicator 2034A, application indicator2036A, phrase 2038A, and reentry affordance 2040A. In some examples, inresponse to selection of the cancel affordance 2032A, the electronicdevice 2000 ceases display of the completion interface 2030A and,optionally, terminates the shortcut generation process. In someexamples, task indicator 2034A indicates a name and/or type of the task.In some examples, application indicator 2036A identifies the applicationcorresponding to the task. The application indicator may, for instance,include a name of the application and/or an icon associated with theapplication. Phrase 2038A is the phrase entered by the user duringdisplay of the text entry interface 2020A that the user may elect toassociate with the task.

In some examples, while displaying the completion interface 2028A, theelectronic device 2000 detects selection of the completion affordance2030A. As shown in FIG. 20N, selection of the completion affordance2030A is a tap gesture 2042A. In response to selection of the completionaffordance 2030A, the electronic device 2000 associates the phrase 2038Awith the task of the candidate task affordance 2062. By associating thephrase 2038A with the task in this manner, the user may provide (e.g.,textually input) the phrase to a digital assistant of the electronicdevice to cause the device to perform the task associated with thephrase. In some examples, further in response to selection of thecompletion affordance 2030A, the electronic device 2000 displays (e.g.,replaces display of the completion interface 2028A with), on the display2001, the application interface 2060, as shown in FIG. 20K. Because thecandidate task affordance 2062 has been associated with a phrase, thecandidate task affordance 2062 includes a phrase indicator 2006Aindicating the phrase that has been associated with the task for thecandidate task affordance 2062.

FIGS. 21A-21F illustrate exemplary user interfaces for performing a taskusing a digital assistant, in accordance with some embodiments. The userinterfaces in these figures are used to illustrate the processesdescribed below, including the processes in FIGS. 11A-B.

Generally, user interfaces described with reference to FIGS. 21A-21E maybe employed such that a user can associate tasks with respectiveuser-specific phrases. These phrases may in turn be used to cause theelectronic device to perform the associated tasks.

FIG. 21A illustrates an electronic device 2100 (e.g., device 104, device122, device 200, device 600, or device 700). In the non-limitingexemplary embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 21A-21E, electronic device2100 is a smartphone. In other embodiments, electronic device 2100 canbe a different type of electronic device, such as a wearable device(e.g., a smartwatch). In some examples, electronic device 2100 has adisplay 2101, one or more input devices (e.g., touchscreen of display2101, a button, a microphone), and a wireless communication radio. Insome examples, the electronic device 2100 includes a plurality ofcameras. In some examples, the electronic device includes only onecamera. In some examples, the electronic device includes one or morebiometric sensors (e.g., biometric sensor 2103) which, optionally,include a camera, such as an infrared camera, a thermographic camera, ora combination thereof.

In FIG. 21A, the electronic device 2100 displays, on display 2101, adigital assistant interface (e.g., conversational interface), such asthe digital assistant interface 2104. While displaying the digitalassistant interface 2104, the electronic device 2100 receives (e.g.,obtains, captures) a natural-language input 2106 (e.g., “Hey Siri, ordermy groceries.”). In some examples, the natural-language input 2106 is anatural-language speech input received, for instance, using an inputdevice of the electronic device (e.g., microphone). As shown in FIG.21A, in some examples in which the natural-language input 2106 is anatural-language speech input, the digital assistant interfaceoptionally includes a preview 2108 (e.g., live preview) of thenatural-language input 2106.

In other examples, the natural-language input 2106 is a text input, suchas the natural-language text input 2109 of FIG. 21B. In some examples, atext field 2111 is displayed in response to selection of a text entryaffordance, and a user may enter the natural-language text input 2109 inthe text field 2111. Thereafter, a user may confirm entry of thenatural-language text input 2109 for instance, by selecting a submitaffordance 2142. A user may select the submit affordance 2142 using atap gesture 2144 in some examples.

In some examples, in response to the natural-language input, theelectronic device 2100 performs a task. By way of example, as describedwith reference to FIG. 14, the electronic device 2100 may determinewhether the natural-language input matches a predetermined phrase, andif so, perform a task corresponding to the phrase. If the task does notcorresponding to the phrase, natural-language processing may be used todetermine a task associated with the natural-language input, and theelectronic device 2100 may perform the task.

In some examples, prior to performing the task, the electronic device2100 provides an output, such as the output 2132. In some examples, theoutput 2132 is a natural-language output (e.g., natural-language speechoutput, natural-language text output) and includes informationassociated with the task. By way of example, the output 2132 mayindicate that the electronic device is initiating performance of thetask (e.g., “I'll handle that now”), and/or that the task requiresconfirmation (e.g., “You'll need to confirm.”). In some examples, theoutput 2132 further may request confirmation from the user (e.g., “Readyto order?”). The user may confirm the task using any form of user input,including a speech input or a touch input.

In some examples, performing a task may include causing an applicationto perform the task. Accordingly, in some examples, prior to performingthe task, the electronic device 2100 identifies an application toperform the task and confirms that the application is capable ofperforming the task. Optionally, in response to the confirmation, theelectronic device receives, from the application, a response indicatingwhether the application can successfully perform the task. In someexamples, the response provided by an application includes anatural-language expression that may in turn be included in an output.In this manner, the application, by way of the digital assistant, mayindicate whether the application is capable of performing the taskand/or provide additional information about performance of the task to auser. In the example illustrated in FIG. 21C, for instance, theelectronic device 2100 provides the output 2132 including a naturallanguage expression 2134 received from the Grocery Store application(e.g., “It will be $58.31”).

In some examples, the electronic device 2100 can display a confirmationinterface, such as the confirmation interface 2110, to requestconfirmation. The confirmation interface 2110 includes a confirmationaffordance 2112, a cancel affordance 2114, and an application affordance2116. The confirmation interface further may include content 2118associated with the task. In some examples, selection of the cancelaffordance 2114 causes the electronic device 2100 to cease display ofthe confirmation interface 2110 and/or forgo performing the identifiedtask. In some examples, selection of the application affordance 2116causes the electronic device 2100 to open an application associated withthe task. As described, opening the application in this manner may causethe application to be preloaded with one or more parameters associatedwith the task. Content 2118 may include information directed to thetask, such as one or more parameters to be used to perform the task. Asillustrated in FIG. 21C, for instance, content 2118 may specify that thetask is directed to ordering a set of grocery items included in thegroup “My Grocery List”, the number of items to be ordered, a deliveryaddress, and a time window in which the delivery is to be made.Optionally, confirmation interface 2110 includes an icon (e.g., image,GIF) associated with the application of the task to help a user morereadily identify the application performing the task.

In some examples, in response to selection of the confirmationaffordance 2112, for instance by user input 2120, the electronic device2100 performs the task. As illustrated in FIG. 21D, in some examples,while the electronic device is performing the task, the electronicdevice 2100 displays a progress indicator 2115 indicating that the taskis being performed. In some examples, display of the progress indicator2115 replaces display of the confirmation affordance 2112 and the cancelaffordance 2114.

Once task has been performed, the electronic device 2100 provides anoutput indicating whether the task was performed successfully. In theexample of FIG. 21E, the task is performed successfully, and as aresult, the electronic device 2100 displays a success indicator 2117,indicating that the task was successfully performed. In some examples,display of the success indicator 2117 replaces display of the progressindicator 2115.

In the example of FIG. 21F, the task is not performed successfully, andas a result, the electronic device displays failure interface 2121. Thefailure interface 2121 includes a retry affordance 2122, a cancelaffordance 2124, and application affordances 2126, 2128. The failureinterface further includes content 2130. In some examples, selection ofthe retry affordance 2122 causes the electronic device 2100 to performthe task again. In some examples, selection of the cancel affordancecauses the electronic device 2100 to cease display of the failureinterface 2120. In some examples, selection of either the applicationaffordance 2126 or application affordance 2128 causes the electronicdevice 2100 to open an application associated with the task. Asdescribed, opening the application in this manner may cause theapplication to be preloaded with one or more parameters associated withthe task. Content 2130 may include information directed to the task,such as one or more parameters used to perform the task. In someexamples, content 2130 is the same content as content 2118. In someexamples, content 2130 is different than content 2118. Content 2130 may,for example, indicate that the electronic device failed to perform thetask successfully (e.g., “There was a problem. Please try again.”).

In some examples, after causing an application to perform a task, theelectronic device 2100 receives a response from the applicationindicating whether the task was performed successfully. In someexamples, the response provided by an application optionally includes anatural-language expression that may in turn be used by the electronicdevice 2100 to indicate whether a task was successfully performed and/orprovide additional information, from the application, to a user. In theexample illustrated in FIG. 21F, the electronic device 2100 receives aresponse from the Grocery Store application including thenatural-language expression 2142 (e.g., “Open app to enter credit cardinformation”), which is in turn provided in the output 2140 (e.g., “TheGrocery Store says ‘Open app to enter credit card information’”).

FIGS. 22A-220 illustrate exemplary user interfaces for performing a setof tasks on an electronic device (e.g., device 104, device 122, device200, device 600, device 700), in accordance with some embodiments. Theuser interfaces in these figures are used to illustrate the processesdescribed below, including the processes in FIG. 23.

FIG. 22A illustrates an electronic device 2200 (e.g., device 104, device122, device 200, device 600, or device 700). In the non-limitingexemplary embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 22A-220, electronic device2200 is a smartphone. In other embodiments, electronic device 2200 canbe a different type of electronic device, such as a wearable device(e.g., a smartwatch). In some examples, electronic device 2200 has adisplay 2201, one or more input devices (e.g., touchscreen of display2201, a button, a microphone), and a wireless communication radio. Insome examples, the electronic device 2200 includes a plurality ofcameras. In some examples, the electronic device includes only onecamera. In some examples, the electronic device includes one or morebiometric sensors (e.g., biometric sensor 2203) which, optionally,include a camera, such as an infrared camera, a thermographic camera, ora combination thereof.

In FIG. 22A, the electronic device 2200 displays, on display 2201, anapplication interface 2204. The application interface 2204 maycorrespond to a task management application in some examples. As shown,the application interface 2204 includes a plurality of shortcutaffordances, each of which may correspond to a respective set of tasks.By way of example, the application interface 2204 includes a shortcutaffordance “Find ATMs”, “Create Note”, “Email me”, “Text Mom”, “TextJane”, “Cookie Timer”, “Email John”, “Home ETA”, and “Work ETA”.

In some examples, while displaying the application interface 2204, theelectronic device 2200 detects selection of a shortcut affordance, suchas shortcut affordance 2206 (“Home ETA”). As shown in FIG. 22A, theselection of the shortcut affordance 2206 is a tap gesture 2208. In someexamples, in response to selection of the shortcut affordance 2206, theelectronic device 2200 displays (e.g., replaces display of theapplication interface 2204 with), on the display 2001, shortcut-specificinterface 2210, as shown in FIG. 22B.

Shortcut-specific interface 2210 includes shortcut indicator 2211,parameter 2212, tasks 2214-2218, search field 2222, and executeaffordance 2224. In some examples, shortcut indicator 2211 indicates aname of the shortcut. In some examples, tasks 2214-2218 are tasksassociated with the shortcut of the shortcut-specific interface 2210,and parameter 2212 is a parameter for a task, such as the task 2216. Insome examples, the order in which each of the tasks are shown indicatesthe sequence in which the tasks are performed when the shortcut isperformed. In some examples, each of the tasks includes a deleteaffordance 2219, which when selected, causes the corresponding task tobe removed (e.g., deleted) from the shortcut.

In some examples, tasks may be added to a shortcut. By way of example, auser may input text into the search field 2222 to search for one or moretasks that may be associated with the shortcut. The user may thereafterset and/or adjust one or more parameter values for the task, asdescribed below.

In some examples, a user may modify the sequence of tasks associatedwith a shortcut. By way of example, while displaying theshortcut-specific interface 2210, the electronic device detects aselection of a task (e.g., with a touch gesture) and displacement of thetask on the display 2201 (e.g., using a swipe gesture on the display2201). Accordingly, a user may “drag and drop” tasks in theshortcut-specific interface to reorder the set of tasks.

In some examples, while displaying the shortcut-specific interface 2210,the electronic device 2200 detects a swipe gesture on the display 2201,such as the swipe gesture 2226 of FIG. 22C. As shown in FIG. 22D, inresponse to the swipe gesture 2226, the electronic device 2200 slidesthe shortcut-specific interface 2210 in a direction corresponding to theswipe gesture 2226 (e.g., upward) to display (e.g., reveal) a portion ofthe shortcut-specific interface 2210 including one or more additionaltasks (e.g., task 2220).

In some examples, tasks are performed according to one or moreparameters associated with the task, and in some examples, parametervalues may assigned using the shortcut-specific interface 2210. By wayof example, for the task 2216 in which a travel time is determined, theuser may specify a street address value for the parameter 2212 that isto be used as a destination address when determining a travel time. Insome examples, because a destination address is required to determine atravel time, the electronic device 2200 may automatically includeparameter 2212 in the shortcut-specific interface 2210 in response toaddition of the task 2216 to the shortcut-specific interface 2210. Asanother example, a user may specify that a dynamic value (e.g., “currentlocation”) as a source address when determining a travel time. As yetanother example, a user may specify one or more recipients for a task tosend a message, for instance, by selecting the recipient affordance2232.

In some examples, settings for a task may be configured using theshortcut-specific interface 2210. For instance, when performingparticular tasks, the electronic device 220 displays an interface (e.g.,completion interface) associated with the task. For some tasks, such asthe task 2218, a user can elect to not have the interface shown duringand/or after performance of the task (e.g., by toggling a “Show whenrun” setting, such as setting 2230). In some examples, the electronicdevice displays an interface for a task only when the task fails. Inthis manner, the electronic device 2200 indicates that the task failedand/or the cause of the failure.

In some examples, a task may be performed only following performance ofanother task. For instance, one or more values for parameters of a taskmay be specified by another preceding task (e.g., dynamic values). Byway of example, a user may specify that for a task to determine traveltime, such as the task 2214, the source address is the current locationof the electronic device. Because the source address (i.e., currentlocation of the electronic device) must be determined prior todetermining the travel time, the electronic device may require that atask to determine a current location of the electronic device bedetermined prior to determining the travel time. As another example, atask to send a message, such as the task 2218, may include one or morevalues that are determined based on the result of another tasks. Asillustrated in FIG. 22D, for instance, the message for the task 2218includes dynamic values for “current location” and “time to home”,values determined by task 2214 (“get current location”) and task 2216(“get travel time”), respectively. As a result of such taskdependencies, in some examples, the electronic device requires certaincouplings and/or sequences of tasks according to a plurality of tasksequence rules such that each task can be successfully performed.

As described, in some examples, a set of (e.g., one or more) tasksassociated with a shortcut are performed by the electronic device inresponse to a user providing an input specifying the shortcut. Asillustrated in FIG. 22E, the electronic device 2200 displays, on display2201, a digital assistant interface (e.g., conversational interface),such as the digital assistant interface 2204. While displaying thedigital assistant interface 2204, the electronic device 2200 receives(e.g., obtains, captures) a natural-language input 2206 (e.g., “HeySiri, Home ETA.”). In some examples, the natural-language input 2206 isa natural-language speech input received, for instance, using an inputdevice of the electronic device (e.g., microphone). As shown in FIG.22E, in some examples in which the natural-language input 2206 is anatural-language speech input, the digital assistant interfaceoptionally includes a preview 2208 (e.g., live preview) of thenatural-language input 2206. In other examples, the natural-languageinput is a natural-language text input.

In some examples, the natural-language input includes a shortcutcorresponding to a set of tasks, and in response the electronic device2200 performs (e.g., sequentially perform) each task of the set oftasks. As an example, in response to the input “Home ETA”, theelectronic device 2200 begins to perform tasks associated with the “HomeETA” shortcut. As described, the “Home ETA” shortcut is associated withtasks including but not limited to “Get current location”, “Get traveltime”, “Send Message”, and “Play Radio”.

As illustrated in FIG. 22F, in response to the natural-language input2206, the electronic device 2200 provides (e.g., displays) shortcutinterface 2244, which in turn includes output 2245, applicationidentifier 2246, task identifier 2248, and shortcut identifier 2250. Insome examples, output 2245 indicates that the electronic device hasidentified a shortcut based on the natural-language input 2206 and isinitiating performance of the shortcut. Application identifier 2246indicates which application is performing the shortcut. If, forinstance, tasks associated with the shortcut correspond to multipleapplications, tasks of the shortcut are performed (e.g., caused to beperformed) by a task management application. In some examples, the taskmanagement application causes one or more other applications to performtasks corresponding to applications associated with the respectivetasks. If a shortcut is associated with only a single task, or, moregenerally, if all tasks associated with the shortcut correspond to asingle application, the application corresponding to the task(s)performs the shortcut. Task identifier 2248 includes an iconcorresponding to the shortcut and/or one or more specific tasks of theshortcut. In some examples, the shortcut identifier 2250 indicates whichshortcut is being initiated.

Thereafter, as illustrated in FIGS. 22G-I, the electronic deviceperforms each task of the set of tasks associated with the “Home ETA”shortcut (e.g., “Get current location”, “Get travel time”, “SendMessage”, and “Play Radio”), for instance, in a sequence correspondingto the sequence set forth in the shortcut-specific interface 2210. Forexample, the electronic device 2200 first performs tasks 2214 and 2216to determine a current location of the electronic device and a traveltime to a destination address, respectively.

In some examples, one or more tasks, such as the task 2218, requireconfirmation prior to performing the task. Accordingly, for tasksrequiring confirmation, the electronic device 2200 can display aconfirmation interface, such as the confirmation interface 2254. Theconfirmation interface 2254 includes a confirmation affordance 2260, acancel affordance 2258, and an application affordance 2266. Theconfirmation interface 2254 further may include content 2256 associatedwith the task. In some examples, selection of the cancel affordance 2258causes the electronic device 2200 to cease display of the confirmationinterface 2254 and/or forgo performing the task 2218 (e.g., theelectronic device moves on to the next task in the set of tasks). Insome examples, selection of the application affordance 2266 causes theelectronic device 2200 to open an application associated with the task.As described, opening the application in this manner may cause theapplication to be preloaded with one or more parameters associated withthe task. Content 2256 includes information associated with the task,such as one or more parameters to be used to perform the task. Asillustrated in FIG. 22G, for instance, content 2256 specifies arecipient of the message and text of the message to be delivered. Inparticular, the text includes a location and a travel time, asdetermined by previous tasks 2214 and 2216, respectively.

In some examples, in response to selection of the confirmationaffordance 2260, for instance by user input 2262, the electronic device2200 performs task 2218. Once task 2218 has been performed, theelectronic device 200 provides a response indicating whether the taskwas performed successfully. In the example of FIG. 22H, the task isperformed successfully, and as a result, the electronic device 200displays a response 2264, indicating that the task was successfullyperformed. As described, in some examples, performing a task includescausing an application to perform the task, and optionally, receiving aresponse from the application indicating whether the task was performedsuccessfully. In some examples, responses provided by an applicationincludes a natural-language expression (e.g., “message sent”) that mayin turn be included in responses provided by the electronic device 2200(e.g., “Shortcuts says: message sent”).

After performing task 2218, the electronic device performs a next taskin the set of tasks associated with the shortcut “Home ETA”, task 2220,directed to initiating radio playback. In response to performing thetask 2200, the electronic device displays completion interface 2270.Completion interface 2270 includes output 2272, application identifier2274, and content 2276. In some examples, output 2272 indicates that theelectronic device has initiated performance of task 2220. Applicationidentifier 2274 indicates which application is associated with the task.Content 2276 includes information associated with the task, such as oneor more parameters to be used to perform the task (e.g., playback is forradio channel “News & Sports”).

After performing all tasks of the set of tasks for a shortcut, theelectronic device provides a completion indicator, such as thecompletion indicator 2280 (e.g., “That's done.”) signaling that alltasks of the set of tasks have been performed. In some examples, theelectronic device 2200 indicates whether all tasks have been performedsuccessfully, or whether one or more tasks were not performedsuccessfully.

In some examples, if a task is not performed successfully, theelectronic device 2200 indicates the failure to a user. As illustratedin FIG. 22J, for example, task 2214 is not performed successfully, andas a result, the electronic device displays failure interface 2290. Thefailure interface 2290 includes failure indicator 2292, applicationindicator 2294, content 2296, and application affordance 2298. In someexamples, failure indicator 2292 indicates an error occurred whenperforming a task (“Hmm. Something went wrong”). The failure indicatormay specify a cause of the error in some examples. In some examples,selection of the application affordance 2298 causes the electronicdevice 1600 to open an application specified by the applicationindicator 2294. Content 2296 may include information directed to thetask, such as one or more parameters used to perform the task and/or anindication as to the cause of the task failure. Content 2296 may, forexample, indicate that the electronic device failed to perform the tasksuccessfully (e.g., “Unable to determine current location.”).

In some examples, performing a task may include causing an applicationto perform the task, and optionally, receive a response from theapplication indicating whether the task was performed successfully. Insome examples, as illustrated in FIGS. 16F-16L below, the responseprovided by an application includes a natural-language expression thatmay in turn be used by the electronic device 1600 to indicate whether atask was successfully performed and/or provide additional information,from the application, to a user.

As shown in FIGS. 22F-J, for each task performed by the electronicdevice 2200, a new interface is displayed in the digital assistantinterface 2204 (e.g., conversational interface) while maintainingdisplay of one or more previously displayed interfaces (e.g., display ofconfirmation interface 2254 is maintained during display of responseinterface 2270). As additional interfaces are displayed, previouslydisplayed interfaces may be scrolled in an upward directed such that thepreviously displayed interfaces are no longer displayed, but may beredisplayed in response to a scroll (e.g., swipe) gesture.

As illustrated in FIGS. 22K-O, in some examples, each time a newinterface is displayed, the electronic device 2200 ceases display ofprevious interfaces. By way of example, in response to display ofcompletion interface 2270 the electronic device 2200 ceases display ofconfirmation interface 2254. In some examples, previously displayedinterfaces may be redisplayed in response to a scroll gesture.

FIG. 23 illustrates method 2300 for performing a set of tasks using adigital assistant, according to various examples. Method 2300 isperformed, for example, using one or more electronic devicesimplementing the digital assistant. In some examples, method 2300 isperformed using a client-server system (e.g., system 100), and theblocks of method 2300 are divided up in any manner between the server(e.g., DA server 106) and a client device. In other examples, the blocksof method 2300 are divided up between the server and multiple clientdevices (e.g., a mobile phone and a smart watch). Thus, while portionsof method 2300 are described herein as being performed by particulardevices of a client-server system, it will be appreciated that method2300 is not so limited. In other examples, method 2300 is performedusing only a client device (e.g., user device 104) or only multipleclient devices. In method 2300, some blocks are, optionally, combined,the order of some blocks is, optionally, changed, and some blocks are,optionally, omitted. In some examples, additional steps may be performedin combination with the method 2300.

Performing a set of tasks in response to user inputs including shortcuts(e.g., voice shortcuts, text shortcuts), as described herein, providesan intuitive and efficient approach for sequentially performing one ormore tasks on the electronic device. By way of example, one or moretasks may be performed in response to a single user input without anyadditional input from the user. Accordingly, performing tasks inresponse to natural-language speech inputs in this manner decreases thenumber of inputs and amount of time needed for the user to successfullyoperate the electronic device (e.g., by helping the user to provideproper inputs and reducing user mistakes when operating/interacting withthe device), which, additionally, reduces power usage and improvesbattery life of the device.

In some examples, the electronic device (e.g., includes one or more of akeyboard, mouse, microphone, display, and touch-sensitive surface. Insome examples, the display is a touch-sensitive display. In otherexamples, the display is not a touch-sensitive display.

At block 2305, the electronic device (e.g., device 104, device 122,device 200, device 600, device 700, device 2200) receives, using adigital assistant, a user input (e.g., natural-language input, speechinput, text input) (e.g., 2240) including a shortcut (e.g., voiceshortcut) (e.g., “Home ETA”). In some examples, receiving the user inputincludes receiving a voice input (2240) and generating a textualrepresentation of the voice input. In some examples, generating atextual representation of the voice input includes performing a speechto text process on the voice input. In some examples, the textualrepresentation is displayed in an interface, such as an interfaceassociated with a digital assistant (e.g., conversational interface). Insome examples, receiving the user input further includes receiving arequest to modify the textual representation to provide a modifiedtextual representation. As an example, a user may select an editaffordance and edit the speech to text version of the voice input. Insome examples, receiving the user input further includes selecting themodified textual representation as the user input.

At block 2310, in response to receiving the user input including theshortcut, the electronic device determines a set of tasks (e.g., 2214,2216, 2218, 2220) associated with the shortcut. In some examples, theelectronic device determines whether the natural-language speech inputmatches one or more shortcuts (e.g., voice shortcut, text shortcut)associated with a user of the electronic device. In some examples,determining whether a match exists in this manner includes determiningwhether a match exists locally and/or remotely. For example, in someinstances the electronic device determines whether a match exists. Inanother example, the electronic device provides user input, or arepresentation thereof, to a backend server, and the backend serverdetermines if a match exists. In some examples, both the electronicdevice and the backend server determine if a match exists and theelectronic device evaluates both results to determine if a match exists.

In some examples, the electronic device identifies a set (e.g.,plurality) of tasks associated with the shortcut. In some examples, theset of tasks is an ordered set of tasks having a predefined sequence. Insome examples, the sequence is user-defined and/or determined by theelectronic device according to one or more sequencing rules. In someexamples, each of the tasks is associated with a respective application.Accordingly, the set of tasks may be associated with any number offirst-party and third-party applications. In some examples, a set oftasks is generated using a task management application configured toautomate performance of a plurality of tasks. In some examples, one ormore parameters of each task may be configured, for instance, using thetask management application. By way of example, recipients and/or textof a text message may be configured. As another example, a user maytoggle whether a response indicating whether a task was successfullyperformed is displayed. In some examples, tasks of a first type requireconfirmation prior to being performed (e.g., 2218) and tasks of a secondtype do not require confirmation prior to being performed (e.g., 2220).In some examples, only responses associated with tasks of the secondtype may be selectively displayed.

At block 2315, further in response to receiving the user input includingthe shortcut, the electronic device performs a first task of the set oftasks. The task is associated with a first application in some examples.In some examples, performing the first task includes determining whetherthe first task is a task of a first type (e.g., a task requiringconfirmation, such as a messaging task or a payment task); in accordancewith a determination that the first task is a task of the first type:requesting confirmation to perform the task, receiving a user inputindicating confirmation to perform the task (e.g., touch input, speechinput), and in response to receiving the user input indicatingconfirmation to perform the task (in some examples, the user indicatesconfirmation by selecting a confirmation affordance and/or providing aspeech input indicating confirmation), performing the task; and inaccordance with a determination that the first task is not a task of thefirst type (e.g., a task not requiring confirmation, background task),performing the first task.

In some examples, performing the first task includes causing, using thedigital assistant, the first task to be performed by a third-partyapplication. In some examples, the digital assistant of the electronicdevice causes a third-party application to perform a task. In someexamples, causing an application to perform a task in this mannerincludes providing an intent object to the application, which optionallyincludes one or more parameters (e.g., 2212) and/or parameter values. Byway of example, the digital assistant may initiate music playback byinstructing a third-party music streaming application to stream music.

At block 2320, further in response to receiving the user input includingthe shortcut, the electronic device provides a first response (e.g.,2264, 2270) indicating whether the first task was successfullyperformed. In some examples, the electronic device provides a responseindicating whether a performed task was performed successfully. In someexamples, the response is visual (e.g., displayed), and/or auditory. Insome examples, the response is a natural-language output (e.g., 2264)and/or a visual platter (e.g., 2270). In some examples, after performinga task, an application provides an application response (1) indicatingwhether the task was successfully performed by the application and/or(2) provides information regarding performance of the task (e.g., ananswer to a query provided by a user), and the response includes theapplication response (e.g., 2264). In some examples, the applicationresponse is a natural-language expression (e.g., “Your ETA is 32minutes”) and is included in the response (e.g., “Commute says ‘Your ETAis 32 minutes’”). In some examples providing the first response includesproviding an indication that the first task was performed successfully.In some examples, providing the first response includes receiving anatural-language expression from the first application; and providing anoutput including the natural-language expression (e.g., “Commute says:‘Your current ETA is 32 minutes’”). In some examples, providing thefirst response includes displaying the first response.

At block 2325, further in response to receiving the user input includingthe shortcut, the electronic device performs a second task of the set oftasks. The second task is associated with a second application differentthan the first application in some examples. In some examples, theelectronic device performs the second task after providing the firstresponse.

At block 2330, further in response to receiving the user input includingthe shortcut, after providing the first response, the electronic deviceprovides a second response indicating whether the second task wassuccessfully performed (e.g., 2264, 2270). In some examples, providingthe first response includes displaying the first response in aninterface (e.g., conversational interface) associated with the digitalassistant (e.g., 2264); and providing the second response includesdisplaying the second response in the interface associated with thedigital assistant (e.g., 2270).

In some examples, providing the second response includes ceasing displayof the first response. In some examples, each time a new response is tobe displayed, one or more previously displayed responses are no longerdisplayed. In some examples, the previously displayed responses arediscarded (e.g., deleted from the conversational interface). In someexamples, the previously displayed responses are scrolled off of thedisplay but may be re-displayed in response to a scrolling input. Insome examples, providing the second response further includes displayingthe second response.

In some examples, providing the second response includes displaying thesecond response while maintaining display of at least a portion of thefirst response. In some examples, as each response is displayed by theelectronic device, previously displayed responses are scrolled, forinstance in an upward direction to allow for subsequent responses to bedisplayed.

In some examples, the electronic device provides an output (e.g., visualoutput, auditory output) indicating each task of the set of tasks hasbeen performed (e.g., 2280). In some examples, the electronic deviceindicates when all tasks associated with a shortcut have been performed(e.g., “That's done.”).

In some examples, the electronic device performs a third task of the setof tasks. The third task is associated with a third application in someexamples. In some examples, after providing the second response, theelectronic device selectively provides a third response indicatingwhether the third task was successfully performed (e.g., 2214). In someexamples, the electronic device may omit providing a response for atask. In some examples, responses are omitted for tasks of apredetermined type (e.g., determination of location) (e.g., 2214). Insome examples, a user may indicate a response is not to be provided fora particular task, for instance, by toggling a display setting for thetask (e.g., 2230).

In some examples, after providing the second response, the electronicdevice performs a fourth task of the set of tasks, wherein performingthe fourth task includes launching an application (e.g., launching amaps application to perform a task for getting directions). In someexamples, performing a task includes launching an application (e.g.,maps application). In some examples, launching an application in thismanner includes causing an interface of the application to be displayed.

In accordance with some implementations, a computer-readable storagemedium (e.g., a non-transitory computer readable storage medium) isprovided, the computer-readable storage medium storing one or moreprograms for execution by one or more processors of an electronicdevice, the one or more programs including instructions for performingany of the methods or processes described herein.

In accordance with some implementations, an electronic device (e.g., aportable electronic device) is provided that comprises means forperforming any of the methods or processes described herein.

In accordance with some implementations, an electronic device (e.g., aportable electronic device) is provided that comprises a processing unitconfigured to perform any of the methods or processes described herein.

In accordance with some implementations, an electronic device (e.g., aportable electronic device) is provided that comprises one or moreprocessors and memory storing one or more programs for execution by theone or more processors, the one or more programs including instructionsfor performing any of the methods or processes described herein.

The foregoing description, for purpose of explanation, has beendescribed with reference to specific embodiments. However, theillustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or tolimit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modificationsand variations are possible in view of the above teachings. Theembodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the techniques and their practical applications. Othersskilled in the art are thereby enabled to best utilize the techniquesand various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

Although the disclosure and examples have been fully described withreference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be noted that variouschanges and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in theart. Such changes and modifications are to be understood as beingincluded within the scope of the disclosure and examples as defined bythe claims.

As described above, one aspect of the present technology is thegathering and use of data available from various sources to accelerateuser behavior using task suggestions. The present disclosurecontemplates that in some instances, this gathered data may includepersonal information data that uniquely identifies or can be used tocontact or locate a specific person. Such personal information data caninclude demographic data, location-based data, telephone numbers, emailaddresses, twitter IDs, home addresses, data or records relating to auser's health or level of fitness (e.g., vital signs measurements,medication information, exercise information), date of birth, or anyother identifying or personal information.

The present disclosure recognizes that the use of such personalinformation data, in the present technology, can be used to the benefitof users. For example, the personal information data can be used todeliver task suggestions that are of greater interest to the user.Accordingly, use of such personal information data allows foraccelerated and more efficient use of an electronic device by a user.Further, other uses for personal information data that benefit the userare also contemplated by the present disclosure. For instance, healthand fitness data may be used to provide insights into a user's generalwellness, or may be used as positive feedback to individuals usingtechnology to pursue wellness goals.

The present disclosure contemplates that the entities responsible forthe collection, analysis, disclosure, transfer, storage, or other use ofsuch personal information data will comply with well-established privacypolicies and/or privacy practices. In particular, such entities shouldimplement and consistently use privacy policies and practices that aregenerally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmentalrequirements for maintaining personal information data private andsecure. Such policies should be easily accessible by users, and shouldbe updated as the collection and/or use of data changes. Personalinformation from users should be collected for legitimate and reasonableuses of the entity and not shared or sold outside of those legitimateuses. Further, such collection/sharing should occur after receiving theinformed consent of the users. Additionally, such entities shouldconsider taking any needed steps for safeguarding and securing access tosuch personal information data and ensuring that others with access tothe personal information data adhere to their privacy policies andprocedures. Further, such entities can subject themselves to evaluationby third parties to certify their adherence to widely accepted privacypolicies and practices. In addition, policies and practices should beadapted for the particular types of personal information data beingcollected and/or accessed and adapted to applicable laws and standards,including jurisdiction-specific considerations. For instance, in the US,collection of or access to certain health data may be governed byfederal and/or state laws, such as the Health Insurance Portability andAccountability Act (HIPAA); whereas health data in other countries maybe subject to other regulations and policies and should be handledaccordingly. Hence different privacy practices should be maintained fordifferent personal data types in each country.

Despite the foregoing, the present disclosure also contemplatesembodiments in which users selectively block the use of, or access to,personal information data. That is, the present disclosure contemplatesthat hardware and/or software elements can be provided to prevent orblock access to such personal information data. For example, in the caseof context data received by the electronic device (such as context datadescribed with reference to FIG. 12), the present technology can beconfigured to allow users to select to “opt in” or “opt out” ofparticipation in the collection of personal information data duringregistration for services or anytime thereafter. In addition toproviding “opt in” and “opt out” options, the present disclosurecontemplates providing notifications relating to the access or use ofpersonal information. For instance, a user may be notified upondownloading an application that their personal information data will beaccessed and then reminded again just before personal information datais accessed by the application.

Moreover, it is the intent of the present disclosure that personalinformation data should be managed and handled in a way to minimizerisks of unintentional or unauthorized access or use. Risk can beminimized by limiting the collection of data and deleting data once itis no longer needed. In addition, and when applicable, including incertain health related applications, data de-identification can be usedto protect a user's privacy. De-identification may be facilitated, whenappropriate, by removing specific identifiers (e.g., date of birth,etc.), controlling the amount or specificity of data stored (e.g.,collecting location data at a city level rather than at an addresslevel), controlling how data is stored (e.g., aggregating data acrossusers), and/or other methods.

Therefore, although the present disclosure broadly covers use ofpersonal information data to implement one or more various disclosedembodiments, the present disclosure also contemplates that the variousembodiments can also be implemented without the need for accessing suchpersonal information data. That is, the various embodiments of thepresent technology are not rendered inoperable due to the lack of all ora portion of such personal information data. For example, tasksuggestions can be provided to a user by inferring likely previous usageof an electronic device based on non-personal information data or a bareminimum amount of personal information, such as the content beingrequested by the device associated with a user, other non-personalinformation available to the electronic device, or publicly availableinformation.

What is claimed is:
 1. A non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumstoring one or more programs, the one or more programs comprisinginstructions, which when executed by one or more processors of a firstelectronic device, cause the first electronic device to: receive, with adigital assistant, a natural-language speech input; determine a voiceshortcut associated with the natural-language speech input, wherein thevoice shortcut is a user-generated phrase customized by a user of theelectronic device; determine a task corresponding to the voice shortcut;cause an application to initiate performance of the task, wherein theapplication is preloaded with one or more customized parametersassociated with the voice shortcut, the one or more customizedparameters defined by the user prior to receiving the speech input;receive a response from the application, wherein the response isassociated with the task; determine, based on the response, whether thetask was successfully performed; and provide an output indicatingwhether the task was successfully performed.
 2. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the one or moreprograms further comprise instructions, which when executed by the oneor more processors, cause the device to: after receiving the response,display an application user interface associated with the application.3. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1,wherein providing an output indicating whether the task was successfullyperformed includes: in accordance with a determination that the task wasperformed successfully, displaying an indication that the task wasperformed successfully; and in accordance with a determination that thetask was not performed successfully, displaying an indication that thetask was not performed successfully.
 4. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 3, wherein the one or moreprograms further comprise instructions, which when executed by the oneor more processors, cause the device to: further in accordance with thedetermination that the task was not performed successfully, display afailure user interface.
 5. The non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium of claim 4, wherein the failure user interface includes a retryaffordance, and wherein the one or more programs further compriseinstructions, which when executed by the one or more processors, causethe device to: detect a user input corresponding to a selection of theretry affordance; and in response to detecting the user inputcorresponding to the selection of the retry affordance, cause theapplication to initiate performance of the task.
 6. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 4, wherein the failure userinterface includes a cancel affordance, and wherein the one or moreprograms further comprise instructions, which when executed by the oneor more processors, cause the device to: detect a user inputcorresponding to a selection of the cancel affordance; and in responseto the user input corresponding to the selection of the cancelaffordance, cease display of the failure user interface.
 7. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 4, wherein thefailure user interface includes an application launch affordance, andwherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions, whichwhen executed by the one or more processors, cause the device to: detecta user input corresponding to a selection of the application launchaffordance; and in response to the user input corresponding to theselection of the application launch affordance, launch the application.8. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 3,wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions, whichwhen executed by the one or more processors, cause the device to:further in accordance with the determination that the task was performedsuccessfully, display a task success animation.
 9. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein causing theapplication to initiate performance of the task includes displaying atask performance animation.
 10. The non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium of claim 1, wherein causing the application to initiateperformance of the task includes: prompting the user to confirmperformance of the task.
 11. The non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium of claim 1, wherein providing the output includes:generating a natural-language output based on the response; andproviding, with the digital assistant, the natural-language output. 12.The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, whereinproviding, with the digital assistant, the natural-language outputincludes providing an audio speech output.
 13. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein providing, withthe digital assistant, the natural-language output includes displayingthe natural-language output.
 14. The non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium of claim 11, wherein the natural-language output includesa reference to the application.
 15. The non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium of claim 11, wherein the response includes anatural-language expression and the natural-language output includes atleast a portion of the natural-language expression.
 16. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein thenatural-language output indicates that the task was performedsuccessfully by the application.
 17. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the task is arequest for information from a third-party service.
 18. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein thenatural-language output indicates that the task was not performedsuccessfully by the application.
 19. A method, comprising: at anelectronic device with a display and a touch-sensitive surface:receiving, with a digital assistant, a natural-language speech input;determining a voice shortcut associated with the natural-language speechinput, wherein the voice shortcut is a user-generated phrase customizedby a user of the electronic device; determining a task corresponding tothe voice shortcut; causing an application to initiate performance ofthe task, wherein the application is preloaded with one or morecustomized parameters associated with the voice shortcut, the one ormore customized parameters defined by the user prior to receiving thespeech input; receiving a response from the application, wherein theresponse is associated with the task; determining, based on theresponse, whether the task was successfully performed; and providing anoutput indicating whether the task was successfully performed.
 20. Themethod of claim 19, further comprising: after receiving the response,displaying an application user interface associated with theapplication.
 21. The method of claim 19, wherein providing an outputindicating whether the task was successfully performed includes: inaccordance with a determination that the task was performedsuccessfully, displaying an indication that the task was performedsuccessfully; and in accordance with a determination that the task wasnot performed successfully, displaying an indication that the task wasnot performed successfully.
 22. An electronic device, comprising: one ormore processors; a memory; and one or more programs, wherein the one ormore programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed bythe one or more processors, the one or more programs includinginstructions for: receiving, with a digital assistant, anatural-language speech input; determining a voice shortcut associatedwith the natural-language speech input, wherein the voice shortcut is auser-generated phrase customized by a user of the electronic device;determining a task corresponding to the voice shortcut; causing anapplication to initiate performance of the task, wherein the applicationis preloaded with one or more customized parameters associated with thevoice shortcut, the one or more customized parameters defined by theuser prior to receiving the speech input; receiving a response from theapplication, wherein the response is associated with the task;determining, based on the response, whether the task was successfullyperformed; and providing an output indicating whether the task wassuccessfully performed.
 23. The electronic device of claim 22, furthercomprising: after receiving the response, displaying an application userinterface associated with the application.
 24. The electronic device ofclaim 22, wherein providing an output indicating whether the task wassuccessfully performed includes: in accordance with a determination thatthe task was performed successfully, displaying an indication that thetask was performed successfully; and in accordance with a determinationthat the task was not performed successfully, displaying an indicationthat the task was not performed successfully.
 25. The method of claim21, further comprising: further in accordance with the determinationthat the task was not performed successfully, displaying a failure userinterface.
 26. The method of claim 25, wherein the failure userinterface includes a retry affordance, and further comprising: detectinga user input corresponding to a selection of the retry affordance; andin response to detecting the user input corresponding to the selectionof the retry affordance, causing the application to initiate performanceof the task.
 27. The method of claim 25, wherein the failure userinterface includes a cancel affordance, and further comprising:detecting a user input corresponding to a selection of the cancelaffordance; and. in response to the user input corresponding to theselection of the cancel affordance, ceasing display of the failure userinterface.
 28. The method of claim 25, wherein the failure userinterface includes an application launch affordance, and furthercomprising: detecting a user input corresponding to a selection of theapplication launch affordance; and in response to the user inputcorresponding to the selection of the application launch affordance,launching the application.
 29. The method of claim 21, furthercomprising: further in accordance with the determination that the taskwas performed successfully, displaying a task success animation.
 30. Themethod of claim 19, wherein causing the application to initiateperformance of the task includes displaying a task performanceanimation.
 31. The method of claim 19, wherein causing the applicationto initiate performance of the task includes: prompting the user toconfirm performance of the task.
 32. The method of claim 19, whereinproviding the output includes: generating a natural-language outputbased on the response; and providing, with the digital assistant, thenatural-language output.
 33. The method of claim 32, wherein providing,with the digital assistant, the natural-language output includesproviding an audio speech output.
 34. The method of claim 32, whereinproviding, with the digital assistant, the natural-language outputincludes displaying the natural-language output.
 35. The method of claim32, wherein the natural-language output includes a reference to theapplication.
 36. The method of claim 32, wherein the response includes anatural-language expression and the natural-language output includes atleast a portion of the natural-language expression.
 37. The method ofclaim 32, wherein the natural-language output indicates that the taskwas performed successfully by the application.
 38. The method of claim32, wherein the natural-language output indicates that the task was notperformed successfully by the application.
 39. The method of claim 19,wherein the task is a request for information from a third-partyservice.
 40. The electronic device of claim 24, the one or more programsfurther comprising instructions for: further in accordance with thedetermination that the task was not performed successfully, displaying afailure user interface.
 41. The electronic device of claim 40, whereinthe failure user interface includes a retry affordance, and the one ormore programs further comprising instructions for: detecting a userinput corresponding to a selection of the retry affordance; and inresponse to detecting the user input corresponding to the selection ofthe retry affordance, causing the application to initiate performance ofthe task.
 42. The electronic device of claim 40, wherein the failureuser interface includes a cancel affordance, and the one or moreprograms further comprising instructions for: detecting a user inputcorresponding to a selection of the cancel affordance; and in responseto the user input corresponding to the selection of the cancelaffordance, ceasing display of the failure user interface.
 43. Theelectronic device of claim 40, wherein the failure user interfaceincludes an application launch afforda.nce, and wherein the one or moreprograms further comprise instructions, which when executed by the oneor more processors, cause the device to: detect a user inputcorresponding to a selection of the application launch affordance; andin response to the user input corresponding to the selection of theapplication launch affordance, launch the application.
 44. Theelectronic device of claim 24, the one or more programs furthercomprising instructions for: further in accordance with thedetermination that the task was performed successfully, displaying atask success animation.
 45. The electronic device of claim 22, whereincausing the application to initiate performance of the task includesdisplaying a task performance animation.
 46. The electronic device ofclaim 22, wherein causing the application to initiate performance of thetask includes: prompting the user to confirm performance of the task.47. The electronic device of claim 22, wherein providing the outputincludes: generating a natural-language output based on the response;and providing, with the digital assistant, the natural-language output.48. The electronic device of claim 47, wherein providing, with thedigital assistant, the natural-language output includes providing anaudio speech output.
 49. The electronic device of claim 47, whereinproviding, with the digital assistant, the natural-language outputincludes displaying the natural-language output.
 50. The electronicdevice of claim 47, wherein the natural-language output includes areference to the application.
 51. The electronic device of claim 47,wherein the response includes a natural-language expression and thenatural-language output includes at least a portion of thenatural-language expression.
 52. The electronic device of claim 47,wherein the natural-language output indicates that the task wasperformed successfully by the application.
 53. The electronic device ofclaim 47, wherein the natural-language output indicates that the taskwas not performed successfully by the application.
 54. The electronicdevice of claim 22, wherein the task is a request for information from athird-party service.